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After mafioso’s death, Prayagraj graveyard officials hope to free land from Atiq’s kin
The graveyard, a portion of which Atiq’s relative has illegally grabbed, is registered as Chhoti Karbala Qabristan (property numberI-1657) under the Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Board of Waqf
A close relative of slain mafioso-politician Atiq Ahmed grabbed a large portion of a graveyard adjacent to Atiq’s partially demolished office in Chakia over a decade back. The graveyard’s Mutwalli (caretaker) made several complaints to authorities at the time but to no avail.
Now, after Atiq’s death and with his gang in tatters, the graveyard committee authorities hope that the land will be freed from illegal occupation of Atiq’s relative. Around half the graveyard land was grabbed on which he is running a construction material business and is even using it as a garage, and a shed for labourers.
An investigation is now underway to identify the Waqf properties illegally occupied by Atiq and his associates, said a senior district administrative official.
The graveyard, a portion of which Atiq’s relative has illegally grabbed, is registered as Chhoti Karbala Qabristan (property numberI-1657) under the Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Board of Waqf, informed the graveyard’s present Mutwalli (caretaker) Amir Alvi.
“The committee made its last complaint about the grabbing of graveyard land in 2021 to the chief minister and Prayagraj administrative officials. However, no action was taken in this regard. Complaints were also made to local police officials. We also spoke to Atiq’s kin and requested him to vacate the land but he refused,” Alvi said.
Copies of some complaints made by the committee to the district administration are in the possession of the Hindustan Times.
However, a senior police official said that no complaint had been received over the issue in the recent past. “If we get a complaint, we will probe the issue and do the needful,” he added.
Locals said that the graveyard was not encroached upon all at once, but the man first grabbed a small portion of it around 12 years back. He gradually started encroaching upon larger portions of it. He used to threaten locals and graveyard committee authorities in the name of Atiq Ahmed when they raised objections.
Former Mutwalli Mirza Murtaza Ali Baig said the graveyard land is over 6 bigha but the man has now illegally occupied around 3 bighas of the land. He has partitioned the graveyard with a temporary brick wall and has made gates illegally in the occupied portion.
“The Shia Waqf Board sent many notices to Atiq’s kin to vacate the graveyard land but to no avail and instead he tried to register the occupied land in his name at Nagar Nigam. However, he failed following an objection by the graveyard committee. We even approached Atiq Ahmed and requested him to ask his kin to remove the encroachment, but he supported him instead and told us to stay silent,” Murtaza Ali claimed.
