Bihar Sunni Waqf Board sends notice to 7 Hindu houses claiming ownership, fails to give proof in Patna HC: Here’s what happened

The Sunni Waqf Board has been frequently issuing notices to residents of Govindpur village who have built houses and have been living there for many years.

Back in 2022, OpIndia reported how the Waqf Board had encroached on an entire village with a Hindu majority population in Tamil Nadu, and later it emerged that over 7 such Hindu villages. The sinister trend has extended to Bihar now wherein it has been reported that the Bihar Sunni Waqf Board has issued a notice in the Hindu-majority Govindpur village of Fatuha near Patna claiming ownership of around 7 Hindu houses.

The Sunni Waqf Board has been frequently issuing notices to residents of Govindpur village who have built houses and have been living there for many years. There are around 95% Hindu families living in this village.

The Sunni Waqf Board notice written in Urdu stated that this land belonged to the Waqf Board and that the residents should evacuate it within 30 30-day time period. The Waqf Board also erected a board regarding the same, which is still standing The afflicted continued to visit the officials but received no relief. When the residents approached the Patna High Court, the Waqf Board was unable to produce any proof for claiming the ownership of 7 Hindu houses and the Patna High Court thus granted relief to the Hindu residents.

Among those who received the Bihar Sunni Waqf Board notice include Brijesh Ballabh Prasad, Rajkishore Mehta, Ramlal Sao, Malti Devi, Sanjay Prasad, Sudip Kumar and Surendra Vishwakarma.

The Hindu residents who received Waqf notices told the media that their ancestors have been residing in Govindpur village since the survey was conducted in 1908. While the residents have received immediate relief from the court, they are scared that the Waqf Board can challenge their properties or other houses in the area employing some or the other tactic since the board is very powerful.

Notably, back in 2022, OpIndia reported a similar attempt by Waqf Board to encroach Hindu houses in Tamil Nadu. It was reported that the Waqf Board had encroached on a Hindu majority village hiruchenthurai village near Trichy in Tamil Nadu. The issue was uncovered when a person named Rajagopal attempted to sell his 1 acre 2 cents of land to one Rajarajeshwari. When Rajagopal, a resident of the nearby village Mullikarupur village arrived at the Registrar’s office to get the sale of his land registered, he was surprised to learn that the land did not belong to him and instead belonged to the Waqf Board.

Later, it was reported that this village is not the only one. The report suggests that the Tamil Nadu Waqf board has claimed ownership of 7 such Hindu villages in the state. The villagers have additionally, alleged that the Waqf Board has also claimed that the 1500-year-old Sundareswarar Temple belongs to them. The Waqf Board placed posters across the villages claiming ownership of the village land.