Five J&K men held in Rajasthan’s Kota over suspicious donation collection

Kota, Feb 1: Two natives of Jammu and Kashmir have been arrested, while three others have been detained by police in Kota district of Rajasthan in connection with suspicious activities linked to the collection of donations, officials said on Sunday.
Police said three men, residents of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, were detained on Saturday by the Bhimganj Mandi police while they were allegedly collecting donations for madrassas. The trio was staying at a guesthouse in the Bhimganj Mandi area, where they were taken into custody for questioning.
Station House Officer Bhimganj Mandi Ramkishan Godara said the questioning of the detained men is ongoing and no conclusions have been drawn so far. He said police are verifying the purpose of their visit to Rajasthan and the authenticity of their claims regarding donation collection, which is also being cross checked with authorities in Jammu and Kashmir.
The detention comes days after two other men, also residents of Poonch district, were arrested by Kota police on January 24. Officials said the arrested duo was staying at the same guesthouse in the Bhimganj Mandi area and was later sent to jail.
Station officer Laiq Ahmed said the two arrested men had allegedly arrived illegally to solicit donations and were booked for disturbing the peace. He added that both were questioned by the Joint Interrogation Committee as part of the probe.
According to police, document verification revealed that one of the arrested individuals was authorized to collect donations only in Madhya Pradesh but was doing so in Kota, Rajasthan. In the case of the other individual, documents indicated that the madrassa for which donations were being collected had shut down in 2025. Both arrested men were identified as Farooq and were residents of Surankot in Poonch district.
Police said further verification is underway and appropriate legal action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation. [KNT]