Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Aftab Jehan Begum, the second wife of Bhopal Nawab Hamidullah Khan, owned around 800 acres of land in Bhopal. Following the partition in 1950, Begum migrated to Pakistan with her eldest daughter, Abida Sultan. However, in 1961, the Union government officially declared her younger daughter, Sajida Sultan, as the legal heir of the property through a gazette notification.

Social activist Amitab Agnihotri raised questions over the status of this property during a press conference on Saturday. The issue emerged against the backdrop of the ongoing dispute surrounding enemy properties, particularly the Pataudi family’s land.

Agnihotri referenced a 2002 report submitted to the High Court by the then PS Revenue, Mala Shrivastava, which revealed that the Nawab family possessed land across 13 villages totalling 2,870.41 acres, all of which was recorded as personal property. The report, which was filed in 2002, identified land in Halalpura (68.53 acres), Borwan (102.35 acres), Laukhedi (123.41 acres), and Shahar Bhopal (255.45 acres), all of which were listed under the names of Hamidullah Khan, Aftab Jehan Begum, and Abida Sultan, dating back to 1959.

In 2017, Bhopal’s then collector, Sudam Khade, filed a complaint to the revenue commissioner, accusing 39 officials of incorrectly transferring properties related to the merger. These properties were not listed as private property in the merger agreement, leading Agnihotri to conclude that they should be considered government property. "I am submitting a report to the Union government regarding the status of these properties. We need clarity on whether these lands belong to the merger or are classified as enemy properties," Agnihotri said.