The Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI) has been entrusted with around 12,600 immovable enemy properties left behind by Chinese and Pakistani nationals, according to Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra. Enemy properties were those left behind by those who adopted Pakistani or Chinese citizenship.

In the Rajya Sabha, Mishra stated that Pakistani nationals left behind 12,485 hostile properties, whereas Chinese nationals left behind 126 enemy properties. Uttar Pradesh has the most enemy properties of 6,255, followed by West Bengal with 4,088, Delhi with 658, Goa with 295, Maharashtra with 207, Telangana with 158, Gujarat with 151, Tripura with 105, and Bihar with 94.

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China's flag [Representational Image]Reuters

In response to a written question, Mishra said that movable properties worth Rs 2,706.91 crore had been sold and the proceeds put in the consolidated fund of India account. So far, he claimed, no immovable enemy property has been sold. According to the Enemy Property Act of 1968, the identification of enemy properties is a continuous procedure, according to the minister. Enemy property, as per the law, is any property that belongs to, is held, or managed on behalf of an enemy, an enemy subject, or an enemy firm.

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Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI)

The Defence of India Rules, 1962, was enacted in response to Chinese aggression in 1962, the Indo-Pak dispute in 1965, and the Indo-Pak war in 1971, and they vested the enemy's movable and immovable possessions in the Government of India. The Enemy Property Act of 1968 established the office of Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI). Custodians are aided by Assistant Custodians and Dy. Custodians.