The police in Assam’s Dispur on Saturday charged a registered public charitable trust, run by Lok Sabha MP and chief of All India United Democratic Front Badruddin Ajmal, with sedition and other offences, The Telegraph reported.
The charges were levelled following a first information report lodged by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Satya Ranjan Borah at Dispur police station against Ajmal Foundation alleging that the organisation got funds from foreign agencies linked with terror outfits, according to the Hindustan Times.
“The complainant alleges in the FIR that Ajmal Foundation had misused funds received from foreign agencies which had terror links,” Himangshu Das, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Dispur), said.
Borah’s complaint is based on allegations levelled against Ajmal Foundation by a non-government organisation called Legal Rights Observatory, according to the Hindustan Times. In a series of tweets on Thursday, it alleged that several Turkey and United Kingdom-based organisations have given Rs 69.55 crore to Ajmal Foundation for education. The NGO alleged that of the funds received, only Rs 2.05 crore was used for educational purposes and the rest was routed to Ajmal’s party.
The BJP has demanded an inquiry into the matter by the Central Bureau of Investigation or the National Investigation Agency, reported India Today.
Ajmalm however, has denied the allegations and blamed the BJP for hatching a conspiracy. “It’s a false allegation,” Ajmal told ANI. “It’s an international conspiracy to defame AIUDF and Ajmal Foundation. It’s being done by [BJP leader] Himanta Biswa Sarma. He began his tactics as soon as we joined hands with Congress.”
The foundation’s Director Dr Khasrul Islam told The Telegraph that they were seeking legal recourse. “We are discussing the case with our lawyers but we will be filing the FIRs by Sunday for defaming the foundation and misleading the public against us,” he said.
The FIR comes just ahead of the two-phase Bodoland Territorial Council polls on December 7 and December 10 that Ajmal’s party and Congress are fighting in alliance against the BJP.
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