By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Police have arrested four persons from the city on Wednesday on charges of collecting donation without obtaining permission from competent authorities.
The four arrested persons — Abdul Aziz, N Sale, Nizamuddin Lashkar (from Assam) and one Sheikh Hassan (from West Bengal) — were charged with collecting donations without obtaining necessary permission from the Deputy Commissioner, which is mandatory in East Khasi Hills district.
The arrested persons would be presented in the court on Saturday.
Following the arrest, a delegation of Muslim community leaders met Deputy Commissioner Jopthiaw Lyngdoh and other senior police officials to explain that the four persons were collecting zakat (religious and charity donations) for their respective traditional institutions and charity homes during the ongoing holy month of Ramzan.
“We never knew that Muslim faithful have to be involved in charity during the month of Ramzan,” the
Deputy Commissioner responded.
Claiming that the arrests were made to prevent any illegal collection in the city, Lyngdoh added that the district administration has proposed the formation of a Muslim forum which would inform the administration about those people who come to the city for collecting religious donations during Ramzan.
