(Done)Aurangabad: The state government has issued directives for registration of offences against six members of the state waqf board, an incumbent deputy CEO and a former joint secretary of the Minorities Development Department (MDD).The move comes in view of alleged irregularities committed in transfer and lease of waqf properties.When contacted, the members refuted the allegations, while some called it a conspiracy to frame them in false cases.In a letter issued to the waqf board CEO, additional secretary M S Chaukekar of the MDD has asked for registration of offences against current and former members of the waqf for allegedly committing things prejudicial to the interests of the waqf.The action against the waqf is based on a complaint lodged by Shabbir Ansari, president of All India Muslim OBC Organisation Trust, to the principal secretary of the MDD on November 29, 2017.As per the directives, the offences are to be registered against Habeeb Fakih, MLC Durani Abdullah Khan alias Babajani, Syed Jameel Janimiya, Maulana Ghulam Ahmed Vastanvi, lawyer Asif Shaukat Qureshi, Zainuddin Zaveri and former joint secretary (MDD) Ainul Attar.What are the cases* Habeeb Fakih and MLC Durrani are facing allegations of illegally demarcating prime land belonging to Dargah Hazrat Ziauddin Al-Rifai situated in Deglur, Nanded, and giving the plots on rent. The Waqf Tribunal reportedly took serious cognizance of the fact that instead of clearing the waqf land of encroachment, the land was demarcated and given out.* The letter also issued directives to the waqf CEO to carry out a detailed probe to find how some of the original sets of crucial documents related to waqf member Fakih’s membership reached the Supreme Court lawyer. The letter further directs waqf CEO to carry out a probe about the letter of former waqf CEO Naseem Bano Patel being annexed with the original documents that reached the lawyer.* In a waqf meeting held on October 3, 2013, 288 plots situated in Jhingabai Takli, Nagpur and belonging to Satranji Pura Badi Masjid of Budghdadiya nagar were allegedly regularised with the signatures of Zainduddin Zaveri, advocate Qureshi, joint secretary Ainul Attar, MLC Babajani, Habeeb Fakih, Syed Jameel and deputy CEO Aziz Ahmed.* Ghulam Ahmed Vastanvi illegally took a land sizing 32 acres and 23 gunthas of land on 99 years lease deed on December 18, 2003 and since has been illegally holding possessing of the land, which originally belongs to waqf’s Badshahi Mullah Trust, Bramhan Galli, Bhingar of Ahmednagar district.Lawyer Asif Qureshi said, “A hearing was scheduled at the Minorities Development Department on September 24, but before that only this order has been passed. This is astonishing.”Syed Jameel said the allegations made by the minorities department are baseless. “The decision in the Satranji Pura land case was taken on October 3, 2013. We had ample of powers about dealing with the case then, but still we went ahead with giving it on rent. Our action is very much within the frame of waqf rules.”MLC Durrani too called the allegations baseless. “We will move court against the move. We have increased the revenue of the waqf by regularising the rents of the tenants holding properties for the past six to seven decades and we have not violated any of the rules of waqf Act.”Maulana Vastanvi’s office too denied the allegations as baseless.

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