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SP veteran Azam Khan’s legal woes far from over as ED probe, 81 cases pending
ED is investigating Azam Khan’s alleged involvement in corruption and irregularities related to Maulana Ali Jauhar University
The troubles of veteran Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Azam Khan, who was released from jail on bail on Tuesday (September 23), are far from over as he continues to face numerous legal challenges, said senior government officials.
Azam Khan faced a total of 111 cases, 81 of them still pending trial, the officials said, adding the cases include allegations of corruption, land grabbing and other irregularities.
The Maulana Ali Jauhar University campus saw the construction of 58 buildings worth ₹418.37 crore, the officials said. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the income tax department are investigating Azam Khan’s alleged involvement in corruption and irregularities related to the university, the officials added.
Sharing further details, a senior government official said the complaint by Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Rampur Akash Saxena, which led to an income tax (I-T) probe, set the ground for an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the alleged money laundering at the Jauhar Trust, which is headed by Azam Khan. The trust runs Maulana Ali Jauhar University, of which Khan is the lifetime chancellor, in Rampur.
The official said the I-T survey findings had revealed that Azam Khan allegedly used ₹106.56 crore of government money to carry out works for the university without any proper sanctions. The money belonged to the public works department (PWD), Jal Nigam and the construction and design services (C&DS) wing of Jal Nigam, the official added.
A senior I-T official confirmed that the alleged irregularities surfaced during a survey carried out for three consecutive days by the department in the third week of September 2023. He said the findings suggested that Jal Nigam transferred ₹46.86 crore for projects under the Ram Sewerage Scheme on the university premises and nearby areas, and another ₹6.70 crore for construction of three pump stations and two water tanks on the campus. Similarly, C&DS built a sewage treatment plant worth ₹35.9 crore near the university and the PWD built roads worth ₹17.16 crore, he said. The I-T official observed that these works were carried out without any government orders, and as such, the departments concerned had been issued notices.
The official added that the three departments mentioned were headed by Azam Khan when he was a cabinet minister in the Samajwadi Party government between 2012 and 2017.
A senior ED official confirmed that the Enforcement Directorate has included these details in its investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases registered against Azam Khan and his associates. He said the agency’s investigation into three cases against Azam Khan, including the Jauhar University case, is still on. The ED has not yet attached any assets in connection with the case, he added.
