Ostracised siblings forced to return to graveyard shelter

Land for a house granted to five siblings who were found living in a graveyard cannot be handed over to them as there is a stay order against its transfer, one of the children has said.
Irfan, one of the siblings, said that the problem over the plot of land had forced the children to return to their earlier shelter.
The children, both of whose parents lost their lives to AIDS, had earlier taken shelter at the graveyard after being ostracised by their kin over fears that they too might be suffering from the dreaded disease.
One of the siblings, Irfan, said that they were given a housing lease on a plot of land in Jamua village upon directions from district magistrate Vidya Bhushan.

But when he went to take possession of the same, he was prevented from doing so by one Sarvesh Tiwari who claimed that the plot was disputed property.
Irfan said that Sarvesh owned a plot adjacent to the one allotted to them and was involved in a legal battle over the same with one Sajjad. He was told by Tiwari that the court had issued a stay order on the property.

Meanwhile, the siblings have rejected an alternative plot near a school here, saying that there was a ditch at the site which would make construction difficult.
Faced with the matter, Irfan said that unless the district administration quickly gave them possession of the land, the siblings would have no option but to continue at their graveyard dwelling.

Four brothers and their sister, aged between seven and 17, were for the last three years living at the graveyard in Lamuha village in the Mandhata area.
Left without shelter after their parents' death, they took refuge at their graves, using just a tarpaulin sheet to protect themselves from heat and rain.