In a letter to PM Modi, U'khand HC lawyer alleges 'encroachment of enemy property' in Nainital

In the letter addressed to PM Modi, lawyer Nitin Karki demanded that the government take action to free the enemy property and crack the whip against the encroachers.

Nainital:A lawyer at the Uttarakhand High Court has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging the encroachment of 'enemy property by people, including Rohingya Muslims in Nainital. In the letter addressed to PM Modi, lawyer Nitin Karki demanded that the government take action to free the enemy property and crack the whip against the encroachers. The enemy property refers to the properties of the people who migrated to Pakistan and China during or after the partition of the country in 1947 and the subsequent wars between the two countries. The Indian government considers these citizens enemies.

The government has appointed a custodian to look after such properties under the Enemy Property Act enacted in 1968. The Central government has constituted the Custodian of Enemy Property Department for the purpose. Nitin says that in Nainital, people of a particular community are “building big houses by occupying the land of enemy property”.

This property worth more than Rs 90 crore belongs to Raja Mohammad Amir Ahmed Khan, a resident of Mahmudabad, Sitapur district, he said. While there are constructions on 11,385 square metres of land by the Central government, 22, 489 square metres of land is lying vacant. In the letter, he said that the accused had made fake identity cards for the purpose. The property has been declared enemy property on the basis of the gazette published by the Uttar Pradesh government in 1965. Nainital DM Dhiraj Garbyal calling the accusations serious has said that action will be taken for any wrongdoing.