Recruitment scam: SP leader Azam Khan appears before CBI court

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan appeared before the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here on Monday in connection with the Jal Nigam recruitment scam where the court also gave a copy of the chargesheet to the former minister

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan appeared before the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here on Monday in connection with the Jal Nigam recruitment scam where the court also gave a copy of the chargesheet to the former minister. With Khan receiving the copy of the chargesheet, trial in the said scam has begun.

Former SP minister Azam Khan was also given a copy of the chargesheet by the court (HT file photo)

Manoj Pandey, special judge, CBI court, had ordered Azam Khan, who is lodged in Sitapur jail, to personally appear before the court. While fixing November 29 as the date of next hearing in the case, the court exempted Khan from personal appearance and directed him to appear through videoconferencing. After his appearance before the court, Khan was taken back to Sitapur jail.

Anomalies were reported in the recruitments that took place in large numbers during the previous Samajwadi Party government. Among those recruited then included 122 assistant engineers, 853 junior engineers, 335 clerks and 32 stenographers. The incumbent state government has terminated 122 assistant engineers.

The Yogi government had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the scam. On the basis of the SIT report, an FIR was lodged against Azam Khan and others on April 25, 2018. The CBI court had denied bail to Azam Khan on September 10 this year.

Khan has been lodged in Sitapur jail since February 27, 2020. His wife Tanzeen Fatma, who was also lodged in Sitapur jail, got bail on December 22 last year in a forgery case. She is a Samajwadi Party MLA from Rampur. However, his son Abdullah Azam continues to be in jail in connection with a fake passport case.