Hyderabad police have registered a case against unknown persons over the alleged encroachment and unauthorised construction of a place of worship on protected Shia Waqf land in Trimulgherry, bringing a disputed land-use issue under formal criminal investigation.
The complaint was lodged at the Trimulgherry police station on Saturday evening by Dr Syed Nisar Hussain, president of the Koh-e-Imam-e-Zamin committee. Hussain was accompanied by Charminar MLA Mir Zulfeqar Ali during the visit to the police station.
According to the complaint, the land parcel is officially registered with the Shia Waqf Board and is protected under the provisions of the Waqf Act. The complainant alleged that an unauthorised encroachment and construction had taken place over the previous two days on the Waqf property known as Koh-e-Imam-e-Zamin.
“Unauthorised encroachment and illegal construction of a place of worship on the protected Waqf property, known as Koh-e-Imam-e-Zamin, occurred over the last two days. We request you to take necessary action against the illegal construction as per law,” Hussain stated in the complaint, as quoted by the Times of India.
Based on the complaint, Trimulgherry police registered a case on November 7 under Sections 324(2), relating to mischief, and 329(3), relating to criminal trespass, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The case has been registered against unknown persons, and the police have not announced any arrests.
The incident places attention on the administrative challenge of protecting notified or registered land from unauthorised occupation and construction. In this case, the ownership and protected status of the parcel have been asserted in the complaint, while the police investigation is expected to establish who entered the site, whether construction occurred as alleged and the extent of any damage or encroachment.
Trimulgherry inspector G Nagaraju said the police were in the process of identifying the alleged trespassers. He also confirmed that no arrests had been made so far.
The complaint by the committee and the police case do not, by themselves, establish the final legal status of the alleged construction or identify those responsible. Those questions will be determined through the investigation and any subsequent proceedings. The immediate official step is the identification of the persons involved and examination of the alleged unauthorised construction on the Waqf property.
