16 families evicted from Kabul House, "enemy property" in Dehradun following court order

The residents alleged that they got the eviction notice very late and could not vacate their house. Refuting this, district administration said that two weeks were given to the residents to vacate but as they continued living here, an eviction drive was taken as per the court order.

Dehradun: An eviction drive has been undertaken as per a court order against 16 families residing at the Kabul House in Dehradun where Afghanistan's exiled king Mohd Yakub Khan lived from 1879 till his death in 1923.

The historic building, located on 19 bighas of land on EC Road and worth Rs 400 crore, was declared "enemy property" after Partition when the descendants of the king migrated to Pakistan.

The drive was taken on Thursday morning in presence of the ADM and a huge contingent of police force. The eviction team took out the belongings of the "illegal occupants" before sealing their houses. The residents claimed that they got the notice very late and so could not vacate their houses.

Also, some of the families had approached the Uttarakhand High Court seeking an extension of the deadline given to vacate the property. The district administration, however, said they did not receive any court order in this regard.

Following the eviction, many of the 16 families who were living here for the last 100 years were left on the streets with their belongings while their houses were sealed by the administration. Pooja, one of the residents whose family is living in Kabul House for more than 100 years said she is getting married in December but has suddenly lost their house. She said that her family was preparing for the wedding and they are in trouble over holding the ceremony as they have no place now.

Another resident said they did not have any place where they can take shelter. "Should we live on the streets with our children?" asked a woman.

The dispute over the property between the residents and the district administration was pending in the District Magistrate Court for the last 40 years. Following the court's verdict, Dehradun district magistrate Sonika Singh declared Kabul House as an "enemy property" and issued a notice to vacate it within two weeks. The process to evict and seal the property began today.

City Magistrate Pratyush Singh said they had given notice to the residents so that they could take their belongings and shift to somewhere else but they kept living here. The eviction has been done on orders of the court, Singh said.