Nizam's heirs battle for his Rs 300 crore

The grandsons of the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad the late Mir Osmanali Khan Bahadur's Tuesday said they would fight a 'legal battle' against the Indian and Pakistani governments, claiming that the Rs 300 crore locked up in London's Westminster Bank since 1948 was their money.

Addressing the press, Nawab Mir Meraj Ali Khan and Nawab Mohd Mohiuddin Khan said the money should be distributed equally to the seventh Nizam's 16 sons and 17 daughters. The money, which was transferred from the Nizam's account without his knowledge to Pakistan's Governor Rahamatullah by the then Finance Minister Moin Nawaz Jung, was frozen in the London bank in September 1948.

Stating that the Indian government had claimed 60 per cent share and the Pakistan government ten per cent, with the remaining for the Nizam's family members, they said they would fight against the two governments if they do not withdraw their claim.

''The foreign officials of India and Pakistan governments are going to hold a meeting on May 21 to settle the issue out of the court. We will decide whether to fight against both the governments based on their decision.''

''Neither the Indian Government nor the Pakistan Government had any right over the said amount,'' they said.

They rubbished as 'false and fabricated' the claim of the Nizam's son Prince Mukkaram Jah and his ex-wife Asra that the money belonged to them and they were negotiating with the bank and in a local court in London, where the case was going on, since the issue came to light in 2001 through a newspaper report in London.

Miraj Ali Khan and Moin Nawab, who were the vice-president and general secretary of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, said TRS President K Chandrasekhara Rao was also ready to support them.