Rampur (Uttar Pradesh), Feb 12 (IANS): The spotlight in Rampur has now turned away from Samajwadi Party MP Mohd Azam Khan to his arch rivals - the royal family of Rampur which is locked in an ugly battle over property.

Even as the local administration and court-appointed commissioners are busy evaluating the assets left by erstwhile Rampur Nawab that are to be distributed among the heirs, a war of words has begun between the two inheritors.

The Khasbagh Palace resident Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan and his elder sister Naghat Abdi, on Tuesday, accused their cousin and Noor Mahal resident, Nawab Kazim Ali Khan of selling portions of properties way back in 2016, even as the decision of the asset distribution was pending in court.

They alleged that Nawab Kazim Ali sold out 'his property share' to a Mumbai-based buyer Fareed Ahmed Qureshi, before the Supreme Court judgment was pronounced into the matter.

Nawab Kazim Ali Khan promptly denied the charges. In a press release issued later in the evening, he said, "I did not sell my property share. However, they (Muhammad Ali Khan and Naghat Abdi) have lost their mind after losing the case."

Nawab Kazim Ali, son of former Congress MP Begum Noor Bano, is a former legislator and his rivalry with SP MP Mohd Azam Khan has acquired legendary proportions.

Meanwhile, eight months after the Supreme Court passed judgment for the division of the property among the family members of the erstwhile Rampur Nawab, the locks of royal armoury were opened on February 3 to count the weapons kept in the family's Khasbagh Palace in the presence of administrative officials, court-appointed commissioners and the erstwhile royal family members.