Board chairman accuses minister of selling waqf property

Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board Chairman Waseem Rizvi today accused Minister of State for Muslim Waqf and Haj Mohsin Raza of violating laws and selling endowment property, a charge denied by the latter.
"Raza had sold off his ancestral land at Safipur in Unnao district through his mother and uncles in 2005, 2006 and 2011. The land, registered as a waqf property in 1937, had four graves -- of Raza's great grandparents and grandparents," said Rizvi.
He maintained that a land with more than three graves was considered to be a cemetery, which by nature was waqf property and thus, could not be brought or sold.

Rizvi said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was informed about it and he had promised an inquiry into the alleged violation.
When contacted, Raza rubbished the allegation by terming it as "baseless" and claimed that charges were being "fabricated" against him "out of fear".
"A CBI inquiry into the functioning of both the Sunni and Shia waqf boards has already been requested by the state government. If there is even an iota of truth in the allegation against me, it would be investigated. The waqf board chairman is simply afraid of a CBI probe and thus, levelling baseless allegations," he told PTI.