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Income Tax department conducts raids at SP heavyweight Azam Khan’s premises
Income tax officials are tight-lipped about the matter, but it is learnt that the raids are in connection with the Al Jauhar Trust, headed by Khan
The Income Tax department on Wednesday morning raided premises linked to Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan and Naseer Khan, another SP lawmaker, across several locations, including Lucknow, Rampur, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur and Sitapur.
Khan and family, who were reportedly present in their Rampur house when the raids started, haven’t responded to the matter so far.
The Income Tax sleuths, who are conducting simultaneous operations across various locations linked to Khan and the Al Jauhar Trust that he heads, too have been tight-lipped about the entire exercise, the latest in a series of actions carried out against the beleaguered SP veteran since 2014.
“Income tax, income tax,” an officer of the probe team was heard telling local reporters in Rampur. “I am sorry, we aren’t authorised to tell more,” he added, before disappearing inside Al Jauhar Trust office.
For the first time in over four decades neither Khan, nor any member of his family represents Rampur either as a Member of Parliament or an MLA.
Since the June 2022 Rampur Lok Sabha bypoll, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has steadily breached Khan’s political base, winning constituencies held by him or his son Abdullah Azam in the bye-elections done after the veteran and his son were disqualified following their conviction by MP/MLA courts in different cases.
Azam is also battling a series of cases slapped on him mostly by BJP leader Akash Saxena, the current lawmaker of Rampur (Sadar), an assembly segment Azam and his family represented for over four decades.
According to reports, income tax authorities barred all movement as they started the search operations inside Azam Khan’s residence and offices, including those of Al Jauhar Trust.
Whether the income tax exercise was in relation to complaints, or allegations about misappropriation of black money and disproportionate assets during demonetisation, wasn’t known.
A case in this regard has already been registered in Lucknow and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also made inquiries twice in Rampur.
Accompanied by para-military forces, the Income Tax teams arrived as the security personnel dispersed locals who had gathered outside Khan’s residence as news of the activity spread.
Raids were also carried out at the residence of SP MLA from Chamraua, Naseer Ahmad Khan, in Rampur. Naseer is said to be a close aide of Azam Khan and is the joint secretary of Jauhar Trust. It was learnt that he was signatory in the deeds signed for the trust.
I-T and ED officials had also scrutinised affidavits given by Azam Khan, his wife and former Rajya Sabha MP Tanzeem Fatima and son Abdullah during assembly elections, and are said to have found irregularities in the fund deals.
