Bareilly admin attaches ‘Tauqeer Raza’s property’, cites illegal purchase

Bareilly: Hours after chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s visit to the city, the district administration attached a property linked to prominent cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza and his family members on Tuesday night.

The action follows an order by a city magistrate’s court, which had previously directed the property to be sealed on June 23.The action stems from allegations involving illegal purchase of temple land. The case is distinct from the Sept 26, 2025, Bareilly riots in which Raza is named as the main conspirator. He has been lodged in Farrukhabad’s Fatehgarh jail since his arrest on the day of the violence last year.A joint team of police and administrative officials reached Mohalla Saudagaran under the Kotwali police station area—home to the prominent Dargah Ala Hazrat—around 8:30 pm to execute the attachment order.

Raza belongs to the family that manages the historic shrine.According to local residents and parties involved in the land dispute, the temple originally spanned nearly 2,000 square yards. The complainant, Loveleen Kapoor, alleged that the temple land was systematically encroached upon over the years and sold off in portions, reducing the religious structure to a single small room. Kapoor also alleged that the land was eventually purchased by Raza, Maulana Shahabuddin, and Shazi Hashmi.