CHENNAI: A group of Muslims who approached the Karur Collector on Monday demanded action against an agency which cheated them to the tune of Rs 5.50 crore for the Haj pilgrimage but failed to arrange the travel.
Around 100 Muslims from Pallapatti in Karur, led by the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi District president Shahul Hameed, who came to the Collectorate, said that they were approached by Ahamed Meeran, who runs Mahathi Haj Services at Pallapatti a month back and told them about the Haj pilgrimage schedule and collected between Rs 3 and 5 lakh from each individual. However, Ahamed Meeran, who collected around Rs 5.50 crore from them, failed to organise the trip.
When they approached him, he showed a fake visa. So the people who had paid the sum argued with Ahamed Meeran, who organised a meeting with the people on May 14. But he did not give any prompt response.
Subsequently, the affected people lodged a complaint with the Karur Economic Offences wing police on May 17, and a case was filed against Ahamed Meeran and three of his associates, but no action has so far been initiated, they said.
They also claimed that Ahamed Meeran had collected money from the Haj pilgrims from Karnataka and Kerala, too. They alleged that Ahamed Meeran had been threatening them when they approached him for the money they had paid. They demanded that the district administration get their money from him.
They also submitted a petition to Collector C Muthukumaran and appealed for his intervention into the issue.