The Waqf Board now claims the land of 115-year-old Uday Pratap College in Varanasi Trending Global News

On the one hand, the Waqf Amendment Bill is being debated in the Parliament, on the other hand, the matter of UP Sunni Central Waqf Board’s claim on the land of Uday Pratap College in PM Modi’s own parliamentary constituency is spread over 100. Acre has come to light. Although this claim was made only 6 years ago, the college responded at the same time. But during the debate in Parliament on the Waqf Bill, this old claim of Sunny Board has become a topic of debate.

After the debate on the Waqf Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha, it is expected that the bill will be tabled in the 2025 budget session, but before that, a new issue related to Waqf has emerged from Varanasi. UP College, spread over about 100 acres in Varanasi’s Bhujubir area, was claimed as waqf property by the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board six years ago. This 115-year-old autonomous college was served a notice under the Waqf Act 1995 on 6 December 2018 by Aali Atiq, Assistant Secretary, UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, Lucknow.

Claim of waqf property

Waseem Ahmed Khan, a resident of Bhujubir Tehsil Sadar sent a registry letter stating that UP College is the property of Nawab Tonk Small Mosque and Nawab Sahib had dedicated the small mosque. So it is waqf property and should be controlled. If no response is given by the college management within 15 days, your objection will not be reconsidered. Responding to this, the then secretary of the UP College Education Committee, UN Sinha, had said on December 21 that Uday Pratap College was established in 1909 under the Charitable Endowment Act.

‘This land belongs to Endowment Trust’

Principal Professor of Uday Pratap College on this whole issue. DK Singh said that a notice was sent by the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board from a mausoleum in the UP College that the UP College land belongs to the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, to which the then secretary also sent a reply that This land. Belongs to the Endowment Trust. Land cannot be bought or sold and any ownership rights are lost. This is the action of some undesirable elements who are claiming this land as UP Sunni Central Waqf Board land.

He said that after giving the reply, there was no further correspondence from the board. But in the meantime, they wanted to do some construction work in the mosque, on which we took action and removed the construction materials with the help of the police. He said that the police have also been told that no construction work can be done in 2022. Principal Professor. DK Singh said that the electricity of the shrine was also cut off as the electricity of the shrine was used illegally by stealing it from the college itself. He said that the board had tried sending notices at that time but the then principal and secretary had actively responded.

Wasim Ahmed Khan passed away last year.

The claimant, Waseem Ahmed Khan, a resident of Bhajubir, Varanasi, died last year at the age of 75. In 2022, Wasim Ahmed also told the Waqf Board that his health was not good. Therefore, he cannot plead this case. It is said that the Nawab of Tonk was imprisoned here by the British during the rebellion of 1857. Because of him, his people settled here and Nawab Sahib built a big mosque and a small mosque for his people. There is a small mosque in the campus of UP College.