An investigative report submitted to the Central Waqf Council by one of its members has alleged mismanagement of, and encroachment on, Waqf land worth crores in Uttar Pradesh. The Central Waqf Council works under the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs. The report has alleged collaboration between Syed Waseem Rizvi, chairman of the Shia Waqf Council of Uttar Pradesh; former Cabinet minister and senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan; and Satish Mishra, general secretary of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), to sell off Waqf land for personal gains.
The report has further alleged that the Akhilesh Yadav-led former SP government did not act on the continuous complaints that the Waqf board received against encroachment of Waqf land in the state.
The report, titled “Findings, Mismanagement, Criminality, Corruption & Suggestions” has been drafted by Adv. Dr. Syed Ejaz Abbas, a member of the Central Waqf Council.
The report says, “In Wakf No. 1564, Masjid Wakf, Shahadre, Mohan Road, Lucknow, Dr. Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University was established by Viklang Kalyaan Vibhaag, Uttar Pradesh government.”
The report says that a complaint was received about the university, saying that the present chairman of the Shia Waqf Board, UP, Wasim Rizvi, had himself allowed the District Collector, Lucknow, to occupy the Waqf plot and gave the NOC (no objection certificate) without the Board’s resolution. “Presently, the said land is not in possession of the U.P. Shia Central Waqf Board. The said University, indirectly as well as directly misusing it, which is in the name of the mother of ex-Cabinet minister Satish Mishra. This case needed to investigated as no record is available in the office of the Shia Waqf Board, Lucknow (sic).” The report has recommended the registration of an FIR in the case at the earliest.
According to the report, the 200-year-old “Imambara Mirza Ghulam Haider” in Allahabad was demolished to pave way for a commercial complex, in clear violation of the multiple sections of Waqf Act 1995 and Waqf Property Lease Rules 2014. The report alleges that Waqar Rizvi, who is the “Mutawalli” (caretaker of the Waqf property appointed by the state Waqf Board) of Imambara Mirza Ghulam Haider, and Wasim Rizvi, chairman of the Shia Waqf Board, Uttar Pradesh, were behind the demolition of the Imambara. The report has alleged that Wasim Rizvi is a “henchman” of Azam Khan (former SP Cabinet minister) “who was given a task to finance his son Abdulla Azam Khan (Azam Khan’s son) for last elections polling etc. That is the reason the previous U.P. state government were not interested to carry out fair and proper investigation in the FIR and that is why till today, no proper action has been taken in the cases.” The report has further called for a CBI investigation “against the larger design and motives of criminality to inflict loss on the Wakf by Wasim Rizvi, Azam Khan and some builders”.
As per the report, at least eight FIRs filed with CID, Lucknow, and various other police stations against Wasim Rizvi “of serious criminal charges” are pending.
The report further states that the Mutawalli of Imambara Mirza Ghulam Haider, Waqar Rizvi, allegedly in collusion with Wasim Rizvi, hatched a conspiracy to demolish the Imambara. “Their aim was to exploit the property and subsequently they had built a four-storey commercial complex comprising 54 shops with the help of a builder named ‘Vardhman Coloniser’ (sic).” The report says, “Most of the shops were allotted to non Muslims against a modest rent of Rs 900 and Rs 700. As per the complaint and our query/inquiry, it is found that shops of the same area situated in the same locality, which is Gulam Haidar Mirza Tripoliya, Allahabad, are charging market rate of rent at the rate of Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per month. Henceforth, it is observed that huge losses of Rs 5,00,000 per month are being incurred on the said Waqf Trust.”
