HC pulls up Ministry of External Affairs and Mumbai police for being mute spectators as deported Pakistani national returns to city, threatens trustees of a dargah and continues to live in Bhandup, right under their nose
A Pakistani national, who was deported back to Pakistan in 2007, has been living right under the nose of authorities who haven’t bothered to find out how he crept back into India. Sayyed Waseem-ur-Rehman Shah, the Pakistani national, has allegedly even threatened local residents.
Plot thickens: Sayyed Waseem-ur-Rehman Shah lives in Bhandup, and is locked in a feud with trustees of the Dargah Hazrat Khwaja Mansurul Hasan Shah Kutubul Auliya and allegedly threatened to disrupt Urs celebrationsu00a0
ADVERTISEMENT
The Bombay High Court last Tuesday pulled up both the Ministry of External Affairs and the Mumbai police for dragging its heels in the matter.
Shah currently lives in Bhandup, and is locked in a bitter feud with trustees of the Dargah Hazrat Khwaja Mansurul Hasan Shah Kutubul Auliya, a dargah located in Bhandup. The trustees have alleged that Shah is trying to usurp the dargah land from them, even though his role in the dargah is limited to that of a spiritual guide. Animosity reached such a level that the trustees had to seek police protection for their festival.
Pak national Shah is the grandson of Sayyed Mansurul Hasan Shah. After Hasan’s death in 1996, his will instructed the constitution of a Wakf to manage the dargah, with Shah as its spiritual guide
The division bench, comprising Justices AS Oka and SS Jadhav, noted that Shah is a citizen of Pakistan and was earlier deported on May 19, 2007. “We find that even the police machinery of the State has made no enquiry as to how [he] is in India. It is obvious that if [he] has illegally entered, appropriate legal proceedings/action will have to be initiated,” noted the bench. The Union of India and the police have been instructed to file affidavits explaining how Shah is still present in the country. The matter will be heard on October 9.
Bitter feud
As per the Wakf’s petition, Shah is the grandson of Sayyed Mansurul Hasan Shah, who obtained Khilafat from Khwaja Mohammed Hassan Sultanul Auliya. After the Hasan’s death in 1996, his will instructed the constitution of a Wakf to manage the dargah. It also appointed his grandson, the Pakistani national, to preside as Gaddinasheen who is to sit on the Masnat (spiritual throne) at the time of religious functions and offer guidance in spiritual matters.
As per the petition, though Shah’s role is restricted to spiritual activities, he has been trying to usurp the Wakf’s property by creating rival factions among his disciples. The Wakf had approached the High Court seeking police protection so they could peacefully celebrate various functions, including Urs, which was to be held between September 27 and October 1.
Ten police constables were posted around the dargah to ensure security during the celebrations of Urs, which ended peacefully yesterday. u00a0
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
