Dargah under Sambhal admin’s scanner over alleged ‘misuse’ of waqf property

Meerut/ Bareilly: The district administration in Sambhal has purportedly initiated an inquiry into the affairs of the renowned Janeta Sharif Dargah in Chandausi following allegations of "mismanagement and misuse of waqf property".
Acting on the complaints, Chandausi tehsildar Dhirendra Pratap Singh formally sought legal documentation from the dargah committee of Janeta village, which falls under Banither police limits. Officials warned that failure to furnish valid documents could lead to strict action under the provisions of the recently amended Waqf Act, which grants broader powers to the administration to "ensure transparency and accountability in management of waqf assets".
Sources in the Sambhal administration said the complaint indicates the dargah committee allegedly used waqf property for "personal gains". The allegations further revealed that no ‘mutawalli' (trustee) was appointed for the past seven years to oversee the financial records and operations of the waqf estate. Moreover, the inquiry brought to light the alleged illegal construction of an eidgah on govt land by the committee.
Chandausi tehsildar Dhirendra Pratap Singh said, "A person named Sahil filed a complaint against the dargah committee with senior officials, alleging serious irregularities. Following the complaint, a team visited the site for investigation and asked the committee to present all relevant documents." In response, the dargah panel members submitted two documents written in Urdu.
Meanwhile, Sayyad Shahid Miyan from the dargah side refuted the allegations and submitted an explanation to the administration. He said, "We submitted the document and the property was registered with the Sunni Waqf Board, Lucknow, in Feb 2011. It is a 300-year-old dargah and belongs to my ancestors."
Shahid Miyan's advocate, Arvind Chauhan, added: "The property - hundreds of years old - was registered with the Waqf Board in 2011. In 2019, an application was presented to the Board to extend Shahid Miyan's ‘mutawalliship', which is still under consideration..."