A case of alleged land fraud has surfaced in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, involving the imam of Jama Masjid and his brother. Local officials filed a complaint accusing the pair of registering two acres of government land as Waqf property through false claims. The land, located in Saif Khan Sarai and valued above Rs 5 crore, was originally set aside for public tree planting. Records indicate the brothers worked with registry staff years earlier to transfer the public plot into their names. They later erected a house, mosque and dargah on the site and submitted forged papers to the Waqf Board. A court cancelled the titles in 2003, yet the structures stayed. After further inquiry, police registered an FIR against the two men and involved revenue staff under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. A tribunal had already ruled on the matter, and a separate court order in March directed demolition plus a Rs 7 crore penalty. The imam has challenged the eviction in the district magistrate court.
