Admin inspects dargah land in Sambhal; illegal clinic sealed

MEERUT After the Sambhal district administration ordered a probe to ascertain whether the land on which the Janeta Dargah Sharif stands is Waqf property, a team of government officials on Tuesday conducted an inspection at the dargah in Janeta village and sealed an “unauthorised” medical clinic operating on its premises.

The action came following a complaint on the chief minister’s portal, alleging illegal occupation of government land and financial mismanagement.

A team of four revenue officials (lekhpals) and two revenue inspectors (kanungos) from Chandausi tehsil began measuring the dargah’s land, spanning several bighas. Tehsildar DP Singh said 40 bighas of land of a pond had been encroached upon, and it had now been freed from illegal possession. A report will be submitted to the district magistrate regarding whether the dargah is built on Waqf property or not. The boundary of the pond had been marked using a bulldozer.

As per the complaint, the dargah’s mutawalli Syed Shahid Miyan was accused of falsely claiming the land under the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board and extorting money during the annual fair.

The investigation follows a site visit by the Chandausi tehsildar on April 12. Shahid Miyan submitted documents on Saturday asserting the Waqf ownership, but officials said the papers lacked clear evidence. “We’re verifying the records. If the land is government-owned, legal action will follow. Evidence of land belonging to a pond being encroached upon has surfaced,” said Singh.

A group of villagers echoed claims that the land had always been public property, alleging misuse by the caretaker. Simultaneously, the health department’s raid on Tuesday exposed an unauthorized hospital operating within the dargah, with expired medicines found in one room. The facility was promptly sealed, adding to the scrutiny of the dargah’s management, the tehsildar confirmed.

The probe, the first Waqf-related dispute in UP since the Waqf Amendment Act, 2005, led to the cancellation of the dargah’s annual four-day fair, slated for this week. The fair, a major local event, was deemed unlawful amid the unresolved dispute.

Sub divisional magistrate Nidhi Patel said the property was not registered as Waqf land in revenue records. “The medical facility being operated from the dargah premises in violation of norms has been sealed. The health department will take further action in this regard.”

Mutawalli Shahid Miyan said, “The land belongs to the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board. The dargah of Dada Mouazmiya Shah, which stood on Waqf land at Janeta village panchayat, has been in existence for over 300 years. We have provided relevant documents to the administration in support of our claims. The dargah premises consists of a mosque, a musafir khana, dawa khana and community kitchen. No business activity is carried out from the premises.”