Muradkhan A Babi has found 70 impoverished families from the Babi community who can benefit from charitable trust to be set up as per late Bollywood actress Parveen Babi's final wishes
Muradkhan Babi with his wife and Parveen Babi’s mother Jamal Bakhte
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“No Babi family member will be deprived of medical aid or education. I have already made list of 70 Babi families scattered in and around Junagadh, who were once filthy rich but are struggling to make ends meet today,” said Muradkhan A Babi (78), who stands triumphant after spending the last 11 years fighting to fulfil the last wish of his niece and yesteryears actress, the late Parveen Babi.
Parveen Babi was found dead in her apartment on January 22, 2005
Muradkhan is the man she left 20% of her wealth to, while trusting him to set up a charitable trust with the remaining property for the upliftment of the Babi community and underprivileged Christians.
The new year will spell new beginnings for this endeavour — after 11 years of fighting a bitter battle with Parveen’s other relatives, the Bombay High Court has finally upheld the legitimacy of the will and ordered that the property be released to him by the new year.
New Year resolution
“Come New Year, and I will be able to fulfil her dreams. I will ensure that the women are made independent and I will donate sewing machines through the Parveen Babi trust. The men, mostly, are unemployed and are addicted to gambling, and alcohol, making the situation worse for the children, who are not even getting basic education or medical aid. I will support them,” said the 78-year-old while speaking to mid-day from Junagadh, Gujarat.
It was there that Parveen had spent much of her childhood, growing close to Muradkhan over the years.
“Parveen had spent most of her childhood days with me. Every time her parents Valimohamedkhan Babi and Jamal Bakhte would have an argument or fight, Parveen would come to me. I treated her like my own child,” said Muradkhan.
“The day the news of her death was flashing on TV, my wife Gulshan Babi, who was then 45 years old, was in such shock that she died of a heart attack. She passed away before she could be taken to hospital,” he recalled.
Parveen’s legacy
As per the will, 70% of the wealth should be used for the welfare of underprivileged women and children from the Babi community, 10% will go towards the upliftment of the underprivileged in the Christian community, while the remaining 20% goes to Muradkhan for the service he will be rendering while executing her final request.
Asked what he intends to do with his 20% share, Muradkhan responded: “I have not decided anything about it. By the grace of god, my two sons and a daughter are settled in their life. Moreover, I own 300 acres of farmland where we cultivate mangoes. My focus is on fulfilling the last wish of my Parveen.”
“All this will be done through the formation of the Parveen Babi trust. We have submitted the proposal to the charity commissioner and it is pending approval,” he added.
His lawyer, Mayuresh Nagle, explained, “We have already submitted the documents required by the office of the Administrator General and are hopeful that by the new year, we should get possession of all the properties and fixed deposits as per Parveen’s will.”
Juhu flat
Meanwhile, the office of the Administrator General had to forcibly evict a caretaker who was allotted Parveen’s flat admeasuring 2,300 sq ft on the seventh floor of Palm Beach, Riveria Heights, Juhu. It was allotted on a monthly rent as agreed by the AG office, but the caretaker was found guilty of violating the agreement norms. The rent collected has also been deposited in Parveen’s accounts.
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