Telangana State Waqf Board finds itself staring into the face of a fresh controversy with a probe being ordered on Saturday after it came to light that an illegal no objection certificate to alienate an endowed land parcel was allegedly issued. Waqf Board officials did not rule out the possibility of investigating chief executive officer M. A. Mannan Farooqui’s alleged involvement.
After a board meeting on Saturday, an official told The Hindu that according to a gazette notification, the land parcel is endowed to Dargah Hazrat Mir Mahmood Saheb waqf institution near Attapur. While the institution is near Attapur, the land parcel, approximately four acres in size, is in Malkajgiri.
“We are told that a no objection certificate has been issued. According to the act and the rules, the State Waqf Board cannot issue such a certificate for alienation of land. A large portion of the board meeting went into discussing the issue and the probe order was given,” a source who did not wish to be identified said.
Speaking to The Hindu , Telangana State Waqf Board chairman and Telangana Rashtra Samiti legislator Mohammed Saleem said that all angles are being probed and action would be taken against the parties involved. “The document is fake. We have written to the Collector to cancel this so called NOC. We will investigate everybody who is linked to the issue. This includes the CEO who has denied his involvement,” he said, adding that in 1969, a board resolution was issued declaring the property is not waqf, but later in the 1989, a gazette was published listing it as waqf. “We will look into this confusion as well,” he said.
A three-member team comprising board members has been constituted. The panel will look into documents and other aspects such as the chief executive officer’s signatures. “The team has on board Malik Moatasim Khan, Dr Sufiya Begum and Anwar Baig. The chief executive officer has assured that he has done no wrong. But he did mention that if files were brought in bulk for signing, he could have inadvertently signed it,” a senior board member said.
Speaking to the media, Mr Farooqui said, “No such file has been moved in the board office from any section. No such letter has been issued. I have written to the Abids police station to file an FIR.”
