On Friday (7th June), an MP/MLA court sentenced Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki, his younger brother Rizwan Solanki, and three others to seven years imprisonment. Irfan has been found guilty of harassing a woman, setting her house on fire, and beating her son in an attempt to grab her land in the Jajmau area of Kanpur in 2022. It is also alleged that Irfan has relations with the main accused in the Kanpur riots. Additionally, as an MLA, he reportedly signed letters that got 5 Bangladeshi nationals Indian citizenship.
This was the first conviction of Solanki (45) who has been booked in eight cases, including charges under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters Act and that of forgery, in the past two years. He has been a four-time legislator from the Sishamau constituency in Kanpur district but following the conviction and sentencing, Irfan Solanki may also lose his assembly seat. The others awarded the sentence in the case are Shaukat Ali, a builder, Israel Attewala, and Mohammad Shareef. Currently, Irfan is lodged in the Maharajganj district jail, while the other convicts are in a Kanpur jail.
Notably, Nazeer Fatima, a resident of the Defense Colony of Jajmau, lodged a complaint on 8th November 2022. In her complaint, she accused Irfan and Rizwan of regularly harassing her and threatening to kill her family in an attempt to grab her house located in the Defence Colony area of the city.
Fatima further said that on 7th November 2022, Irfan, Rizwan, and their associates set her house on fire while she and her family had gone to a relative’s wedding. When her son reached home, he saw that their house was on fire. Fatima also said that Irfan Solanki, his brother Rizwan Solanki, and their associates had assaulted her son and also tried to push him into the fire. After the Police registered an FIR against MLA Solanki, he went absconding to avoid arrest.
On 4th April this year, Fatima’s 14-year-old granddaughter went missing. She went to school with her brother but did not return home. Her bicycle was found abandoned near the railway station. Aslam, the father of the missing minor, had lodged a complaint with the police.
Irfan signed letters that authorised illegal Bangladeshis as Indian citizens
Apart from all these allegations, Irfan Solanki is also accused of giving certificates of Indian citizens to Bangladeshi Muslims and having close relations with the accused of the Kanpur riots. In fact, in December 2022, Kanpur Police arrested 5 Bangladeshi Muslims of one family living illegally. The arrested individuals included 2 men, 2 women, and a minor.
All these infiltrators were living in India with fake identities. According to the reports, the Police seized fake identity cards including passports and Aadhaar cards, from the arrested individuals. One of these Bangladeshi citizens had traveled to many countries, and currency from several countries was also recovered from him. The accused were issued a letter purportedly signed by jailed Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Irfan Solanki, which authorized them as Indian nationals.
On 11th December 2022, the Mulganj police station in Kanpur received information about some suspects heading towards Meston Road. Following this tip-off, the police set up a blockade and apprehended four individuals. When asked to show their identity cards, they hesitated. To mislead the police, all the suspects claimed that their identity cards were at home.
The police then took all the suspects to their house. There, they found a person named Khalid Majid. Upon searching the house, the police recovered his Bangladeshi passport, a fake Aadhaar card, foreign currency, and about Rs 14.5 lakh. When questioned about this, the accused could not provide any satisfactory answers.
Eventually, the police took all five suspects into custody. During interrogation, the accused revealed that they were originally residents of the Khulna district in Bangladesh. The suspects were identified as 79-year-old Khalid Majeed, 53-year-old Rizwan Mohammed, 45-year-old Hina Khalid, and 21-year-old Rukhsar. Another minor was also apprehended.
The accused told the police that they had been living in India since 2016. A total of 1001 dollars in foreign currency and many pieces of gold jewelry were recovered from them. The arrested Rizwan had traveled to Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Nepal several times.
The police stated that the documents of these accused were verified by SP MLA Irfan Solanki. Irfan not only provided the arrested individuals with certificates of being Indian on his official letterhead but also continuously verified their documents. Additionally, in 2019, SP councilor Mannu Rehman issued certificates declaring these Bangladeshis to be Indians.
Additional CP Anand Prakash Tiwari also confirmed that SP MLA Solanki and SP councilor Mannu Rehman helped the accused in attaining the residence proof certificates which proved them as Indian Nationals.
Irfan Solanki also linked to the main accused of the Kanpur riots
Several cases have been registered against Irfan Solanki and his associates in Uttar Pradesh for extortion, encroachment on public and private land, and illegal construction. Reports have also surfaced about Irfan Solanki’s collusion with builders Shaukat Ali and Haji Wasi Khan. Wasi Khan is accused of funding the 2022 Kanpur riots. He is also accused of illegally settling Bangladeshis in Kanpur. In this matter, cases under the Gangster Act have been registered against Haji Wasi Khan and his groups.
ED conducted raids at several locations of Irfan Solanki in connection with money laundering
In March this year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided several locations linked to SP MLA Irfan Solanki regarding his disproportionate growth of assets. Between 2016 and 2022, while he was an MLA, Irfan’s wealth increased by 282 percent. It is alleged that this unaccounted benami property of Irfan Solanki was created through money laundering.
According to reports, Irfan carried out money laundering through fake companies. Between 2015-16 and 2022-23, it was discovered that approximately 12.5 crore rupees were deposited in Irfan’s account in cash, while income tax returns were filed for only Rs 6 lakh. The bungalow that Irfan and his brother Rizwan live in, which is spread across 1000 square meters, is valued at around Rs 10 crore.
According to the agency, this wealth was also accumulated illegally. During the ED’s raids, some diaries were recovered that revealed transactions amounting to approximately Rs 40 to 50 crore. Additionally, documents for land worth Rs 5 crore in Mumbai were also found. Moreover, cash and digital devices were seized during the raids, which are currently being examined.