Pathan told the media here on Monday that the CVC has asked the
Maharashtra government to submit a report on the matter. “The CVC had no option
but to seek the report following the Adarsh scam that came to light. The CVC
had taken cognizance of our complaint that we had submitted in May 2008 to the
federal Minority Affairs Ministry (MAM) and to former Federal Minister Abdul
Rehman Antulay,” Pathan said.
He added that Ashish Joshi, director of planning and program
at MAM, had also informed the CVC of an earlier complaint that was lodged in
2008 against Ambani.
“The issue in question related to a plot of land measuring
4,532 at Altamount Road in Mumbai which was a Waqf property meant for
charitable purposes and which intended to benefit the deprived and needy sections
of the Muslim community,” wrote Joshi in a letter dated Oct. 25 to the CVC,
titled "A Classic Case of Corruption."
"The property was sold by officials in Maharashtra Waqf
Board to Antilia Commercial in 2003 for a petty 210.5 million rupees while the
market value was not less than 5,000 million rupees. The person who is going to
occupy the house with his family goes by the name of Mukesh Ambani,” he added.
"Shameless Muslim bureaucrats, politicians and
self-claimed leaders have not only sold or brought off Waqf property in the
state at peanut rates, but they have not even felt ashamed selling graveyards
and properties belonging to orphanages," said Mohammed Akram Khan,
president of the All India National Muslim Front.
“These properties belonging to the Muslim community are not
siphoned or sold out by the Hindus, but by our own community people, and
everything is swept beneath the carpet without a murmur. What would you say of
such black sheep in our community who do not even feel ashamed of selling off
graveyards. Who will take these elements to task,” he asked.
When Arab News tried to contact Ambani's Reliance Industries
Limited in Mumbai, a company official, who refused to be identified, said that
the company had no comments to make and that it will only respond to queries
from the state government or CVC.
