A case of land grabbing involving an ‘enemy property’ belonging to a person who migrated to Pakistan post-independence has surfaced in the Noida district in Uttar Pradesh. Here, Mufid Khan, his wife Rihanna Khan and a few other people have been accused of usurping the land, which now technically belongs to the government, using fake documents.
On October 24, 2023, Noida Police filed a formal complaint against the accused under several sections as per the court’s directives and began investigating the case.
Notably, ‘enemy properties’ are those left behind by people who took citizenship of Pakistan and China after leaving India during the partition and post the 1962 and 1965 wars. The central government, through the Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI), owns enemy properties spread across many states in the country.
In this instance, the complainant Nasir, son of one Noor Mohammad, who originally lived in the Punhana district in Mewat. The complainant stated that Taufiq, a resident of Jewar, left India and went to Pakistan during the 1947 partition. Taufiq left behind 6.838 hectares of land in the Mehndipur Aliabad area in Noida, when he left the country. The complainant alleged that Taufiq’s land ought to have been owned by the Indian government as per law, however, the accused usurped it using false documents.
Noor Mohammad alleged that even after Taufiq moved to Pakistan, the land remained listed in the name of Taufiq’s son Nagda. According to him, the authorities in the concerned department somehow remained unaware of this matter. Nor did anyone from the area bring up the matter with the authorities. This is why the land continued to remain in the name of Taufiq’s son for a long time.
Mufid Khan alias MA Khan, meanwhile, took advantage of this and in connivance with some other fraudsters, got fake land documents made in the name of Natwarlal. Mufid Khan then transferred Taufiq’s land to his wife Rihanna’s name based on these fictitious documents.
According to reports, both accused are residents of Kila colony which comes under the jurisdiction of Jewar Police station in Uttar Pradesh. The complainant said that on October 9 and 10, he wrote to the SHO of Jewar PS, Police Commissioner of Gautam Budh Nagar and the SDM of Jewar, apprising them about the issue. He sent his complaint via speed post and also shot a mail to them, however, no action was taken in the matter. Rather, on October 11, accused Rihanna and Mufid Khan threatened the complainant, Noor Mohammad with death and put pressure on him to drop the case.
After not getting any positive response from the police, the complainant approached the court. Finally, on the orders of the court, a case was registered on October 24, 2023, in the Jewar police station under sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 120 B and 506 of IPC. The FIR named Rihanna, Mufid Khan, and some other unidentified individuals as accused in the case.
The investigation of the case has been handed over to Sub Inspector Ajay Kumar. Talking to the media, Jewar police station in-charge said that the case is being investigated. OpIndia has a copy of the FIR.
Many former officials in Noida have come under scrutiny
OpIndia spoke to Noor Mohammad’s lawyer Irshad Chaudhary on this matter. According to Irshad, a thorough inquiry into the situation will reveal that numerous former officers were also complicit in the illegal acquisition of ‘enemy properties’ that were left behind by people who migrated to Pakistan after the partition.
The lawyer alleged that these officials not only assisted those who immigrated to Pakistan in obtaining fake domicile certificates but also in procuring fake death certificates, enabling them to continue to project themselves as citizens of India.
Lawyer Irshad Chaudhary said that the land that belonged to Taufiq, before he migrated to Pakistan, is very close to the Jewar Court and can be utilized for a variety of big government projects, including the opening of courts or police stations.
Calling the accused a repeat offender, Irshad Chaudhary said that despite accused Mufid and Rihanna Khan being involved in various such cases of the misappropriation of land, the administration has not yet taken any action against them.
He further declared that his client would continue to pursue the legal battle. Irshad Chaudhary, who believes that this issue is far more serious than treason, expressed disbelief that no one has been arrested in the matter so far.
Meanwhile, OpIndia also spoke to ADCP Greater Noida Ashok Kumar who confirmed that he will review the case and issue a statement in this regard.
