Trustees of Juma Masjid, one of the oldest mosques in the city, have written to the Mumbai police commissioner, alleging defamation, harassment, and threat to their lives from Zuber Ali Khan, a filmmaker and former contestant in the reality show Bigg Boss.
The complaint by Shuaib Khatib, trustee of Juma Masjid, says Khan uploaded a video on social media on June 29, making false allegations about the sale of property owned by the mosque trust. Khan claimed in the post that Nazir Tungekar, chairman of the trust, in association with Khatib, sold rooms built over the masjid's toilets for over Rs six crores. Khan said he has filed complaints with the Maharashtra State Board of Waqf, the authority that administers Muslim religious trusts, and with the state government, including the minister for Waqf. There is no FIR in the case, only a written complaint.
Khatib, in his letter to the police, said that Khan's posts are defamatory and asked the police to take action against Khan as his social media posts defame a well-known religious institution. Khatib said that the alleged sale was a transfer of the tenancy of a property owned by the trust. "The property is old and is not part of the mosque; it has a separate city survey number and is one of the many shops and other properties owned by the trust," said Khatib.
According to Khatib, the transfer of the property took place under the pagdi system, a form of tenancy where the landlord gets a share of the compensation paid to the seller of the tenancy rights. "If he has proof that the sale is illegal, he should file a complaint with the Waqf Board, the municipal corporation, or the police," added Khatib.
Khan, who describes himself as an atheist, claimed that the trust sold a two-storeyed structure without authorisation from the Waqf Board. He also accused the trustees of extorting donations for burials at the Bada Kabrastan which is managed by the mosque.
Dattatray Bharne, minister for the minorities department and Aukaf (Waqf), said he was not aware of the complaints against the trust. The Mumbai office of the Maharashtra State Waqf Board did not respond to messages and calls for a comment.
The Jama Masjid trust said that all donations to the Bada Kabrastan fund were voluntary, and donors were issued receipts. "Khan is not a resident of the locality. He is being instigated by somebody else who wants me to stop campaigning against the misuse of Waqf properties," said Khatib.
