Cantonment chief executive officer Vikas Kumar Vishnoi said the property in Mhow was originally held under a British-era grant that permitted only residential use
NEW DELHI — The troubles for Al-Falah University founder Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui are compounding by the hour. On Wednesday, the Mhow Cantonment Board in Madhya Pradesh issued a notice to the occupants and legal heirs of a residential property, belonging to Siddiqui’s family, citing unauthorised construction.
The cantonment board authorities have directed that the structure – house number 1371 located on survey number 245/1245 in the Mukeri Mohalla area of Mhow – be razed within three days, an official said on Wednesday.
Faridabad-based Al-Falah University, run by the Al-Falah Group, is emerging as an epicentre of investigation in the November 10 blast near Red Fort in the national capital.
Cantonment chief executive officer Vikas Kumar Vishnoi said the property was originally held under a British-era grant that permitted only residential use. After reconstruction in 1995-96, Jawad Siddiqui sought registration and transfer of ownership, but authorities ruled that the four-storey structure violated provisions of the Cantonment Act. “Three notices were issued between 1996 and 1997 for removal of unauthorised construction,” Vishnoi said, adding that the latest action follows a recent review confirming the building’s illegal status.
Cantonment Engineer H S Kaloya said a notice has been issued to the house of the late Maulana Hammad, father of Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, who served nearly 20 years as the town’s Shahar Qazi. As per the notice, the department had previously issued multiple communications, directing the removal of the unauthorised construction. “However, despite repeated notifications, the construction in question was reportedly not removed. The latest notice instructs the current occupant or legal heirs of the property to remove the unauthorised structure within three days,” Kaloya was quoted by media reports as saying.
If the direction is not complied with, the cantonment board will undertake removal action, and the cost incurred will be recovered from the concerned party as per the provisions of the Cantonments Act, the official said.
Earlier, the Madhya Pradesh police arrested Hamood Ahmed Siddiqui, the brother of Jawad Siddiqui, from Hyderabad in connection with a financial fraud in Mhow, officials said.
Hamood, who is accused of orchestrating a large-scale financial fraud in MP’s Mhow 25 years ago, was arrested on Sunday, an official said.
The Delhi blast prime accused, Dr Umar-Un Nabi, was an assistant professor in the general medicine department of Al-Falah University.
Several suspects linked to the Delhi blast are alleged to have had association with the university, prompting investigators to examine institutional records, financial transactions and administrative approvals. — With inputs from Agencies
