The Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday, March 23, attached properties worth Rs 9 crore that belonged to BSP politician and meat mafia Haji Yakub Qureshi, as part of the UP government’s ongoing action against meat mafias in Uttar Pradesh. Other unlawful assets totalling over Rs 31 crore have also been identified. On the other hand, on the third day of the Income Tax Department’s raid on the residence of Aligarh meat businessman Haji Zaheer, property worth crores of rupees has been found.
Speaking about the police action on the properties of Yakub Qureshi, Circle Officer (CO) Kithore Rupali Roy said, “two plots of lands of Haji Yakub Qureshi which have been attached today are in the name of Haji Yakub Qureshi’s wife Sanjeeda Begum. These properties were purchased with money obtained through criminal activities.”
CO Roy added that Yakub’s other illegal assets, worth Rs 31 crore 77 lakhs, have also been marked. Action will be initiated on these also.
A total of 26 properties, including both land and buildings, have been identified as belonging to Yakub. There are 32 cars in all. There are more than 24 premium four-wheelers and some two-wheelers.
Haji Yakub Qureshi, a former minister in the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) governments, is currently held in Sonbhadra Prison. Imran and Firoz, two of his sons, are presently out on bail.
Seven luxurious houses are among the 26 sites that have been designated as land and buildings. These mansions are located at various locations in Meerut. Yakub’s school, hospital, meat factory, land, two homes in Sarai Bahlim, and other unlawful properties have been identified by the police on Hapur Road.
Yakub Qureshi owns property in ten villages. Some construction work has also been done at these places. Two bungalows in Sarai Bahlim Kotwali were bought in the name of Sanjeeda Begum. In Zahidpur, a bungalow, and six buildings have been identified.
Registered in the names of Yakub and his sons Imran and Firoz, luxury and expensive vehicles such as Mercedes, Jaguar, and Range Rover have also been found. There are 23 vehicles registered to the Alfahim Meatex Company, including the Innova, Pajero, Balero, and 5 Scorpio.
Former minister Haji Yaqoob Qureshi owned and ran Al Fahim Meatex Private Limited. This meat factory is situated in Village Allipur Jijmana Dhikauli under the Kharkhauda police station area. There was an illegal business of meat packaging and processing going on in the factory. Police charged 18 people, including Yakub Qureshi, his wife Shamjida, and sons Firoz and Imran, after recovering meat from the spot. Meat worth five crore rupees was caught in the factory.
