Al-Falah University Chairman's Ancestral Property Gets Demolition Notice

In fresh trouble for the family of Al-Falah University chairman Mohammad Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, the Mhow Cantonment Board in Madhya Pradesh has issued a final demolition notice for the illegal construction at the family's ancestral home in Mukeri Mohalla of the town. 

The Board has directed the occupants and legal heirs of the house to remove the unauthorised structure within three days, warning that failure to comply will result in demolition at the owner's expense. 

The notice, pasted prominently on the building, states that the house has carried unauthorised extensions for several years and that the department will now proceed with action if the violations are not cleared immediately.

According to official records, the dispute over the property is nearly three decades old. The Cantonment Board had earlier issued notices on October 23, 1996, followed by a notice on November 2, 1996, under Section 185 of the Cantonments Act, 1924, and another on March 27, 1997, under Section 256 of the same Act. Despite repeated directives over the years, the unauthorised construction was never removed. The four-storey structure known locally as Maulana's Building belongs to the late Mohammad Hammad Siddiqui, father of Jawad, and features more than 25 windows and a large basement. The building, constructed in the 1990s, remains one of the most recognisable structures in the Kayastha neighbourhood of Mhow.

The latest action by the Cantonment Board comes at a time when the Siddiqui family is already under national scrutiny following sensational developments in a multi-state fraud probe. In a dramatic arrest earlier this week, Madhya Pradesh Police arrested Jawad's younger brother, Hamud (Hamood) Ahmad Siddiqui, from Hyderabad after nearly 25 years on the run. Hamud, now 50, had been wanted in multiple investment fraud cases registered in Mhow in 2000, in addition to an older 1988 case of rioting and attempted murder. Police said he had duped investors, many of them retired Army and MES personnel, through investment firms that promised high returns before fleeing Mhow with the money.

Indore Rural SP Yangchen Dolkar Bhutia stated that Hamud had been living under a new identity in Hyderabad and was running a stock-market investment firm in Gachibowli. He allegedly used clever tricks to avoid detection, including having his household gas cylinders delivered to another address. Police believe the amount of fraud committed by Hamud exceeds the Rs 40 lakh documented so far and could rise as the investigation progresses. Hamud had never been arrested since the cases were filed in 2000, and a reward of Rs 10,000 was announced for him in 2019. His arrest this week was part of a drive to track down long-absconding criminals.

While Jawad himself is not named in any of the Mhow fraud cases, the timing of events has brought fresh attention to the Siddiqui family. Locals recall that Jawad began an investment firm, Al-Falah Investment, from the same house in the early 1990s before shifting to Delhi, after which his brother launched Al-Fahad Fincom, which later became the subject of FIRs. The family's history includes Jawad's father serving as the city Qazi of Mhow and his half-brother being jailed in the Afam murder case.

The developments have coincided with national focus on Al-Falah University following the November 10 car explosion near Delhi's Red Fort, which killed 13 people. A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team visited Burhanpur on November 15 in connection with its wider probe. Investigators noted that the prime accused in the blast case, Dr Umar Mohammad, had previously taught at Al-Falah University.

Amid this series of unfolding events, the Cantonment Board's demolition notice adds further strain to the Siddiqui family's legal and administrative troubles. With only three days given to remove the illegal construction, the matter has once again revived a nearly 30-year-old dispute that has lingered unresolved. Whether the heirs will comply or face demolition action remains to be seen, but the ancestral home long known as Maulana's Building has now been thrust back into the spotlight at a time when the family is facing multiple enquiries across states.