Five pose as trustees in Gujarat, collect rent for shops, houses on Waqf trust land for 17 years

Ahmedabad: Five persons have been arrested for allegedly posing as trustees and collecting the rent for 17 years for structures built on land owned by two Ahmedabad-based trusts registered under the state Waqf Board, police said on Sunday.

The imposters collected rent for nearly 100 houses and shops on land belonging to the Kaanchni Masjid Trust and Shah Bada Kasam Trust, according to an FIR (first information report) registered at the city’s Gaekwad Haveli police station.

“An FIR for cheating and forging documents was registered against them after it was found that they misused for personal benefits the properties belonging to the trusts registered under the Waqf Board," DCP Bharat Rathod said.

A Waqf property is dedicated to religious or charitable purposes. The income generated from such properties is typically used for religious activities, charitable works, or public benefit.

“The accused carried out illegal construction over 5,000 square metres belonging to the two trusts. They built around 100 properties (houses and shops) and collected monthly rent between 2008 and 2025,” he said.

The five have been identified as Salim Khan Pathan, Mohammad Yasar Sheikh, Mahmoodkhan Pathan, Faiz Mohammad Chobdar, and Shahid Ahmed Sheikh. Salim Khan Pathan is a history-sheeter and faces five cases, including one related to the Arms Act, he said.

None of the accused is a member of any of the trusts, said complainant Mohammad Rafiq Ansari, a tenant of properties built on land belonging to the Kaanchini Masjid Trust.

Besides using the rent money for their benefit, the accused also claimed ownership of the money collected in the donation box of the Shah Bada Kasi Trust, he said.

The accused also allegedly constructed 15 shops on land belonging to the Kaanchni Masjid Trust. The land was, in the past, handed over to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) for an Urdu school, he said.

During the 2001 earthquake, the school structure became dilapidated. The AMC demolished the school in 2009 and shifted it to a nearby area. Meanwhile, the fake trustees constructed ten shops, one of which was used by accused Salim Khan to open his office, said the complainant, adding that the rest were rented out.

The rents collected by the accused were neither deposited in the trust's account nor handed over to the AMC. This way, they cheated the AMC and the Waqf Board, the complaint said.