The attempts to open the strongroom are part of the evaluation exercise of royal treasures so it could be divi... Read More

RAMPUR: It was a bit of an anticlimax when the family of the erstwhile nawab of Rampur (UP) gathered at the sprawling lawns of Khasbagh Palace this week to witness the opening of a strongroom — now at the heart of a decades-old inheritance dispute — and its six-tonne door refused to give away. Despite several hours of drilling, five expert welders armed with an array of tools — gas cutter, pulling machines and grinders — managed to chip through only one of the multiple layers of iron on the eightfeet-tall door on Wednesday.

This was the sixth in a series of futile bids to open the strongroom which was built in the 1930s by Nawab Raza Ali Khan . In fact, the only time the room was breached was during a break-in back in 1980 when thieves had entered through the roof and made away with valuables. Today, no one really knows what’s behind the sealed door. The reason: Very few royals have actually seen the inside of the strongroom since its keys were lost decades ago. Speculations have been rife about the riches it could hold.

The attempts to open the strongroom are part of the evaluation exercise of royal treasures so it could be divided among family members of Nawab Raza Ali Khan. Raza Ali Khan — who had acceded to India in 1949 — was survived by three wives, three sons and six daughters. The government recognised the eldest of his three sons—Murtaza — as the sole inheritor as per the customary law. But this was challenged by his siblings, spawning a 47-year-long legal battle. In 2019, the Supreme court ruled that the property would be divided among all family members according to Muslim law .

The property assessment is now being done by the Rampur district court following apex court’s orders. As part of the exercise, the locks of an armoury in the 450-acre palace were opened to reveal carved guns, gem-studded swords and knives while a garage was hiding vintage cars imported from the US and Europe, among them a Plymouth (1957), Dodge convertible (1954), Austin convertible (1956), Buick (1939) and Jeep Willys (1956). Other properties to be divided among 18 claimants include the 200-acre Benazir Bagh Palace, Sarhari Kunda, Shahbad Bagh Palace and a private railway station, all in Rampur.

On March 24, another attempt will be made to open the strongroom. Court-appointed commissioner Saurabh Saxena said he was hopeful they would be able to get through this time.

Some family members said they have little expectations about what the room would yield. Nawab Kazim Ali Khan, son of former Congress MP Begum Noor Bano, wife of Murtaza’s younger brother, told TOI, “The strongroom used to house Basra pearls, trays filled with diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and rubies. It also contained a crown, carpets with stone-work, heirlooms and sword scabbards. But I believe little is left now.”

Nawab Muhammed Ali Khan, Murtaza’s son, whose mother had the keys to the strongroom insists they were never found. “My mother was a cancer patient but she passed away suddenly during treatment in Mumbai in 1993. The keys were never found,” said Khan, who lives in Goa and was in Rampur with sister Shehzadi Naghat Abedi for the evaluation.

“The family opened the strongroom ahead of Muharram every year. Gold alams (plates) and silver tables were taken out for rituals. I don’t know what’s inside because I lived abroad until my mother’s death and there was a theft as well. We were told that thieves had entered through the roof and stolen valuables from the strongroom. The theft was discovered after a child found a part of a gold plate in the palace premises,” he said. Rampurbased historian Nafis Siddiqi said very few people were even aware of a strongroom in the palace until the evaluation started. “This is the first time, many have heard of a strongroom full of treasure in Khasbagh. It has evoked a lot of curiosity here,” he said.

