Hyderabad: The two persons who had informed TS Wakf Board chairman Mohammed Saleem on Saturday that they had paid of Rs 35 lakh to secure a no-objection certificate (NoC) to secure a 4.5-acre parcel of land did not turn up at the board meeting held on Monday.
Mr Saleem had asked them to narrate their version at a meeting of board members. They had alleged that they had paid Rs 35 lakh to get the NoC from the then chief executive officer Mannan Farooqui. The officer says his signature was forged.
As per officials the NoC that was issued in May 2017 was later cancelled and the land reclaimed in November. The case is being investigated by the police.
The land is located in Malkajgiri and is endowed with the Mir Momin Dargah at Attapur on the city outskirts. In May last year, the Wakf Board issued a NoC to some persons for the land.
High drama prevailed during the Wakf Board meeting on Monday over NoC, with board members hoping to interview the two persons who claimed they had paid the bribe. They, however, did not turn up.
“The persons are strangers to me. They said they had paid a Rs 35-lakh bribe to officials to obtain the 4.5 acres of land. They interacted with me for a brief while and left after handing over the file. However, after the scam broke out last year, we reclaimed the land,” Mr Saleem said.
Mr Saleem briefed the board members about the developments during the Monday meeting. Later, interacting with mediapersons, he said that five persons had come to his chamber and handed over a file containing documents pertaining to the land and a report of the Forensic Science Laboratory, New Delhi.
“I am not sure if the report of the forensic science laboratory is genuine,” he said.
The Abid Road police is investigating the case of the NoC after TS Wakf Board chief executive officer Mannan Farooqui lodged a complaint in November last year, stating that some persons had forged his signature and issued the NoC.
The police who registered a case collected the specimen signature from other official documents sent it to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis. “No person had come to us so far and said that they had paid any money to Wakf Board officials.
The case pertaining to the NoC reportedly issued by the executive officer (CEO) is under investigation and we hope to get the reports from the forensic laboratory soon and action will be based on the outcome of the report,” said Abid Road inspector A. Gangaram. The controversy revolves around a land parcel located at Malkajgiri.
On Monday, the board passed a resolution pressing for an inquiry by the Crime Investigation Department into the issue and several others pertaining to the TS Wakf Board. “We will ask the government to order a CID probe into the NoCs issued by the board so far,” he said.
Meanwhile Firasat Ali Baqri, a BJP leader demanded that the ACB should register a case against the former CEO and conducted searches at his houses.
