Mutawalli suspended for selling wakf land

HYDERABAD: The AP State Wakf Board (APSWB) on Saturday suspended Syed Akbar Nizamuddin, mutawalli (manager) of Dargah Hazrat Shah Khamosh in Nampally, for allegedly selling 85 acres of wakf land.
A member of the previous wakf board, Nizamuddin is the current chairman of Darussalaam Cooperative Bank and trustee of the Darussalaam Educational Trust, which are affiliates of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen.Earlier, Nizamuddin also served as the member of the National Wakf Council and the rector of Islamic seminary Jamia Nizamia. Sources said he was privy to a lot of internal information and therefore his suspension over the sale of wakf land may throw light on a bigger conspiracy.
While issuing the suspension letter, Shaik Mohammed Iqbal, special officer of the APSWB, alleged that Nizamuddin sold around 85 acres of land in various parts of the city, including Khanajiguda, by means of general power of attorney given to four individuals.
According to Iqbal, a memo was issued to Nizamuddin seeking clarification on the status of a 400-acre land parcel in Makhta Sultanpur, but the reply said that he was never in possession of it. Nizamuddin further clarified that the lands were encroached and under litigation. However, no show cause notice was served, Iqbal admitted.
"We found the reply vague and this shows his failure to protect and safeguard wakf properties. Also, he filed a writ petition claiming 9 acres and 27 guntas of land at Sabir Gulshan as mashrut-ul-khidmat meant for service of dargah, but did not say that the lands are nuzool (or given on perpetual lease)," Iqbal said. He added that Nizamuddin had sought a no-objection certificate to construct an engineering college at Sabir Gulshan but had failed to do so.