Paigah kin ask for treasure
Members of the Asman Jah family have sought Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s help in getting back their jewellery worth crores of rupees stashed in a Mumbai bank vault since 1952.
Mr Mohammed Mohiuddin Khan, son of the late Nawab Mohammed Mazharuddin Khan, Mr Mohd Zai-ul Hussain, Nawab Pervez and Ms Samina Khan, who claim to be the legal heirs, told mediapersons that some persons unconnected to the family were trying to lay claim to the properties through “fraud, cheating and forgery.”
According to Mr Mohiuddin Khan, the jewellery was being carried by his uncle, Nawab Zaheer Yar Jung, the Ameer-e-Paigah from Hyderabad when it was seized by customs authorities at Santa Cruz Airport in Mumbai on April 19, 1952.
“After making a panchnama, Customs authorities kept the gold, diamonds, rubies and other valuables in the bank vault. We are forced to come out since some persons unconnected to the Paigah family — Ahmed Miya of Chincholi, Karnataka, and Khadeer Hussain of Hyderabad — are laying claim to this property. They have gone to court with fabricated documents. We just want to alert people and government officials," Mr Mohiuddin Khan said.
Mr Khan said he was the registered GPA for the legal heirs of Sir Asman Jah (documents No 641/IV/2013 and 642/IV 2013).
Asked about the quantity and value of the jewellery and in which bank it was lying, he said the jewels were worth hundreds of crores. They did not want to identify the bank.
On November 28, Mr Mohiuddin Khan had lodged a complaint with the commissioner, Survey and Settlement, Jagir Administration, not to entertain “illegal claims for release of high value and precious jewellery” of late Sir Asman Jah Paigah.