Shimla: On the evening of Independence Day, unknown persons, under the cover of darkness, brutally beat up Gurdyal Singh, a supervisor at Faridkot House estate at Mashobra. The property is part of the multi-billion rupee property suit that a Chandigarh court recently decided in favour of the daughters of late Maharaja of Faridkot by annulling a will that was held to be a forged one by the trial court.
Sub-inspector of Mashobra police station Ajit Singh told Hill Post that they got a call from Gurdyal Singh today morning about some people having beaten him, yesterday evening at around 10 p.m.
On visiting the site, the police team found Gurdyal lying in a dark room with his right leg and arm badly injured.
On contacting the hospital authorities, a medical officer said that there was suspicion of fractures to the leg and the hand.
The investigating police officer said that on suspicion, one person had been summoned for questioning.
Spread over 260 bighas, the property which had five cottages came under the management of Maharaja Khewa Ji Trust that had been set up after the death of Sir Harinder Singh Brar, the late Maharaja of Faridkot, by a will said to have been made in 1982.
However, a court in Chandigarh on 25 July, 2013 annulled the will, ruling that it was a forged document and the two surviving daughters of the late Maharaja Amrit Kaur and Deepnder Kaur were declared as the rightful owners of the over Rs 20,000 Cr of immovable and movable property of the former royal house.
Gurdyaly Singh, the supervisor attacked last night is part of the Maharaja Khewa Ji Trust, police said. A case has been registered and we are investigating the matter, said the police officer.
Faridkot Royal House dispute gets murkier
Two days ago counsels of Amrit Kaur, in a statement released at Chandigarh alleged that trust members had illegally withdrawn Rs 2.6 Crore from banks after the 25 July, judgement.
Balbir Singh Sewak and Dharminder Singh Randhawa, counsels for Amrit Kaur in a communiqué stated “the amount withdrawn could be much more, if information from other bank accounts could be available. Till date, withdrawals from Oriental Bank of Commerce Rs 1.36 crore, Bank of India Rs 85 lakh, Canara Bank Rs 34 lakh, Punjab and Sind Bank Rs 3.75 lakh, State Bank of Patiala Rs 1.97 lakh, have been made all at Faridkot.”
The counsels also alleged that the trustees and other employees had been illegally and without any authority sold properties of estate of the late Maharaja of Faridkot, even as per the clauses of the alleged Will, which was later declared to be forged, the so-called trustees could not sell the properties which they were to maintain in trust.
They have illegally sold four Aircrafts for Rs one lakh, 54 acres of agriculture land in Hissar for Rs 23000 per acre, airstrip at Hissar measuring 110 kanal for Rs 25000 per acre, Dhanna Kothi measuring 80 kanal at Hissar for Rs 40000 per acre and precious trees in forest spread over in 1500 acres in Bir Chahal, Bir Ghungiana and Bir Shekhawala at Faridkot, the duo state.
The Maharaja’s properties include two forts, Raj Mahal complex in Faridkot, Faridkot House on New Delhi’s Copernicus Marg, Mani Majra fort in Chandigarh, gold, diamonds and around two dozen buildings across the country and a museum.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
