SAHIWAL, July 20: A member of tableeghi jamaat has reportedly deprived his companions, including doctors, engineers, bankers, traders and government officers, of at least Rs35 million.

Living in a rented house, Al-Haaj Muhammad Younas ran a cloth shop in the local Deepalpur Bazaar and had been a regular visitor of the local tableeghi centre.

The accused gained information about the retired people having received their golden handshake money. He motivated the retired officers, bankers, traders and other professionals not to keep their money in banks because it involved interest which was against the Islamic norms.

He gave them incentive to invest their money in the business to earn ‘rizq-i-halal’. Moved by his ‘pious lectures’, they withdrew their lasting earnings from banks and handed him over for the business purpose.

He would pay Rs3,000 profit against the amount of Rs100,000 to each depositor. His requent absence from the city created doubts in the minds of the depositors who started asking him to return their invested money.

A fortnight ago, some of the investors caught hold of him. At this, the accused took them to Saqib Weaving Mills, Faisalabad, informing that he had invested an amount of Rs35 millions in the mills on which Rs8 million profit was due to him. Through his tout, he issued fake cheques to investors and scared himself away.

The affected persons have now set up a camp in front of the rented house of the accused. His wife and children told them that Younas was kidnapped by investors and they had lodged a report with the police.

According to the list collected from the camp, retired officer Mushtaq Ahmed Shah invested Rs4.5 million, director Agriculture Bank Mushtaq Chaudhry Rs3.2 million, retired officer Muhammad Iqbal Rs3.9 million, retired headmaster Habibullah Rs2.1 million, Prof Muhammad Rafiq Zafar Rs3.4 million, petition writer Alim Nasir Rs1.5 million.

A majority of affected persons hail from Sahiwal, Raiwind and Kasur.