Viral posts claiming that late actor Dilip Kumar bequeathed his property and wealth to the Muslim Waqf Board are false. BOOM reached out to Faisal Farooqui, a close aide of the late actor, who confirmed that no such donations have been made and the claims are false.
Born as Mohammed Yusuf Khan in now Pakistan's Peshawar, actor Dilip Kumar passed away on July 7, 2021, at Mumbai's PD Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Centre at the age of 98.
Soon after the thespian's death, social media posts falsely claimed that given his Muslim lineage, the actor donated his property to the Waqf board, instead of the Indian government instead.
The Central Waqf Council is a body under the Ministry of Minority Affairs of the government of India. It was set up in 1964. Waqf is a dedication or grant made by philanthropists. It consists of movable or immovable properties and the donation is used for religious or charitable purposes as recognised by the Islamic Law.
Users gave the posts a further communal spin by claiming that the veteran actor chose a Muslim body over a temple to donate his wealth.
Click here, here and here for the archives of the tweets.
The narrative is viral on Facebook as well. Click here, here, here and here to see Facebook posts.
BOOM spoke to Anees Shaikh, CEO of Maharashtra State Board of Waqfs, under the Maharashtra government, who clarified that no such grant has been made by Dilip Kumar or his immediate family.
BOOM contacted Faisal Farooqui the veteran actor's spokesperson and social media manager, who clarified that no such grant has been made. SM HoaxSlayer, a fact checking organisation, quoted Farooqui as saying, "These are fake tweets created by fake IDs. Mischief makers and absolutely false. Every word of those tweets is false. There's no truth in their content."
BOOM has also reached out to the actor's wife Saira Bano for a comment, the article will be updated when Bano responds.
