Bangalore: Wakf Board's Rs 2 Lac Crore Scam - Report Names Members, Politicians

Bangalore, Mar 27 (PTI): A report on alleged scam of over Rs 2 lakh crore, involving Wakf Board land, was on Monday submitted to chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda by Karnataka minorities commission chairman Anwar Manipaddy.

"I have submitted a report on the alleged Wakf Board land scam running into more than Rs 2 lakh crore to chief minister which will be tabled on the floor of the Assembly. Apart from powerful politicians, several Wakf Board members, Wakf officials, middlemen and land mafia have been involved in the scam," Manipaddy told reporters in Bangalore.

The panel was constituted by the government in November last year following complaints and media reports on the role of politicians and Wakf Board officials in the illegal sale of land to individuals.

Manipaddy declined to reveal the names of politicians involved in the scam, saying "it is left to the Assembly to do so."

To a question, he said, of the Wakf Board's 54,000 acres of registered land, there has been misuse of about 22,000 to 27,000 acres.

"Many middlemen, land mafia and politicians have been involved in the scam...Misappropriation of Wakf land has taken place in city areas rather than in rural areas...About 85 per cent of misappropriation has happened in city areas," he said.

Manipaddy said he has recommended to the government to set up a high-power committee to check corrupt activities taking place in Wakf Board and appoint a task force to retrieve Wakf properties sold illegally to "some powerful and influential people".

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Wakf minister Roshan Baig demanded CBI inquiry into the Wakf land scam without any delay.

"The guilty should be brought to the book," he said.

Congress MLA NA Harris said the Manipaddy's report was a BJP conspiracy to malign leaders belonging to minority community including Muslims.

"Manipaddy does not command any respect among minority community and does not know functioning of Wakf Board and its purpose," Harris said.