Delhi Waqf Board suspends officer over graft charge
New Delhi, Sep 5 : The Delhi Waqf Board on Wednesday suspended its section officer K. Alam Farooqi over the 2016 alleged sale of a portion of Chirag Delhi dargah to a private dealer in connivance with Board officials.
The decision comes a day after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan was, for the second time, elected as the Chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board after resigning in 2016 over allegations of corruption.
The Chirag Delhi dargah case first came to light in March 2016 when the caretaker of the dargah allegedly sold a piece of land to a private player. The locals interfered and stopped the construction of the two rooms that the caretakers said were part of 'musafirkhana' (guest rooms) outside the main enclosure of the dargah.
In January this year, a Delhi assembly committee report alleged corruption by the section officer and accused Farooqi of illegally selling a portion of the land to private players.
Talking to IANS, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said: "K. Alam Farooqi sold a portion of the 14th-century dargah to a private player by the name of Sri Ram Builders in connivance with Waqf Board officials. When Amanatullah Khan, who was the chairman of the Board in 2016, got to know about this deal, he tried to file an FIR but soon he resigned."
This, he said, gave Farooqi an opportunity to misplace the deal papers and the documents which stated that the Chirag Delhi dargah property belongs to the Waqf Board.
"Mr Farooq instead presented a misleading report which stated that the dargah property never even belonged to the Board in the first place," said Bharadwaj, who had first raised the issue in the House in 2016.
He further said that the section officer was then confronted with the locals and the then CEO of the Waqf Board who clearly said that Farooqi misplaced the files of the dargah.
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Ladakh leaders welcome Wangchuk's release, demand others' freedom
New Delhi (PTI): Leaders from Ladakh on Saturday welcomed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk's release from Jodhpur jail and demanded the release of remaining detainees.
Wangchuk was released from prison on Saturday after the Union government revoked his detention with immediate effect.
Ladakh MP Mohamad Hanifa hailed his release and urged the government to accept their demands for statehood and protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
"We welcome the release of Sonam Wangchuk. But others also need to be released, and the government should also take back the cases filed against people who participated in the protests," Hanifa told PTI.
The Union Home Ministry, in its statement, commented on the law and order situation in the Union Territory.
"... prevailing atmosphere of bandhs and protests has been detrimental to the peace-loving character of the society and has adversely affected various sections of the community, including students, job aspirants, businesses, tour operators and tourists and overall economy," it said.
Hanifa, however, said protest is a Constitutional right, and urged the government to resolve the issue through dialogue.
"If our voice is not heard in any other way, then there is another way to protest. We have always protested peacefully from day one, and we believe in peaceful protests. This is to make our voice reach the government," he said.
"We have always said that we want a solution to these issues through dialogue," he said.
Kargil-based politician and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) member Sajjad Kargili, in a post on X, demanded the immediate release of Deldan Namgial and Smanla Dorjey, and appealed to the government to drop all charges against other detainees unconditionally.
"The revocation of NSA against Shri Sonam Wangchuk is a welcome move. However, our struggle of our legitimate rights continues," he said.
Wangchuk was detained on September 26, 2025, two days after protests over demands for statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution rocked Leh.
More than 45 people, including 22 policemen, were injured in the protests.
