Firing a fresh salvo against Minority Affairs Minister Mohammad Azam Khan, Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad demanded a CBI probe into the recent fire in the office of UP Sunni Central Waqf Board.
Jawaad alleged that the fire at the Waqf Board office on September 4 was engineered to destroy crucial land records.
"Since the landed property of both the Shia and the Sunni Waqf Boards have been used in Jauhar University at Rampur, promoted by Khan, the fire was orchestrated to destroy the records," the Shia cleric charged.
Azam Khan is the Chancellor of Jauhar University in his native town Rampur.
The Maulana, who has been locked in a bitter feud with the minister for over a year, said: "The records have been destroyed and those who misappropriated the Waqf Board properties can now freely sell the land. In the absence of records, the Waqf Board will not be able to take action against them."
Alleging that the Samajwadi Party government had unleashed a reign of terror against the Shias, Jawwad charged that numerous youths of the community had been framed in cases and even the Gangsters Act had been invoked against some of them.
He said that now the government was planning to crackdown on Shia women who were demanding removal of Shia Waqf Board Chairman Wasim Rizvi
Jawwad said that he was in favour of negotiated settlement of contentious issues but the state government was not ready for a dialogue.
The Maulana has given a call for a meeting at Dargah Hazrat Abbas in lucknow on September 30 to chalk out the future course of action and press for the demand for removal of the Shia Waqf Board Chairman.
For over a year, the Shia cleric has been agitating against the Samajwadi Party regime, demanding the removal of the Shia Waqf Board Chairman and also a CBI probe into the Board's functioning.
In July last year, Jawwad had led a huge demonstration from the Old City and marched towards Hazratganj when the cops intercepted him and a fierce clash ensued near Shaheed Smarak.
The police had to open fire to control the situation and one person was killed and scores were injured in the incident.