Probe Agency Searches Nagpur Office Of Church Of North India: Report

Enforcement Directorate officials told Press Trust of India that the searches are tied to a cheating case registered against PC Singh, bishop of the CNI's Jabalpur Diocese.

Nagpur, Maharashtra:

The Enforcement Directorate carried out searches at 11 locations across India, including the Nagpur office of the Church of North India (CNI), in connection with a case registered in Bhopal, a probe agency official said on Wednesday.

Enforcement Directorate officials told Press Trust of India that the searches are tied to a cheating case registered against PC Singh, bishop of the CNI's Jabalpur Diocese.

The office of CNI, a Protestant denomination, located in the Sadar area in the city is being searched, an official said.

In September 2022, Bishop Singh had been detained at the Nagpur airport in Maharashtra for questioning after an offence was registered against him.

Madhya Pradesh police at the time had recovered around ₹ 1.6 crore in Indian and foreign currencies from the bishop's residence in Jabalpur. Bishop Singh was then in Germany.

The case against Bishop Singh was registered in July 2022 after it was alleged that he had indulged in financial misconduct in running an educational society, of which he was the chairman.

Enforcement Diretorate officials said an investigation showed that ₹ 2.7 crore collected as students' fees by the society's various institutions between 2004-05 and 2011-12 was allegedly transferred to religious institutions, misused and spent by the bishop for personal needs.

A part of the money was also transferred to CNI's Nagpur office, they said.