Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday, minutes after walking out of Rampur jail on bail in an alleged dual PAN card case.
An ED team from its Lucknow zonal office apprehended Khan outside the prison in connection with a separate money laundering investigation linked to the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur. The agency is expected to complete the formalities of his arrest and produce him before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad.
"We have apprehended Azam Khan. After following arrest procedures, we will arrest him and produce him before the Ghaziabad PMLA court," an ED official from the Lucknow zone told Hindustan Times.
Khan's son, Abdullah Azam Khan, who was also granted bail in the dual PAN card case, walked out of jail and went home. The father and son had been in prison for more than 11 months before the Allahabad High Court suspended their sentences and granted them bail on October 29.
A large contingent of central paramilitary forces and police personnel was deployed during the ED operation. Khan's supporters gathered outside the jail and raised slogans in his favour. Reports said an argument broke out between Khan and ED officials before he was taken away.
Khan alleges action is punishment for being Muslim
Reacting to the ED's action, Khan alleged that he was being targeted because of his religion and for establishing the university.
"What's left there to say. It's the punishment for being a Muslim. The mistake was, a Muslim built the university, this is the crime; made schools for children, this is the crime," he said.
The ED's action came days after it provisionally attached land and buildings belonging to Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur. The properties have an estimated current market value of approximately ₹1,170 crore.
The university, located in Jauhar Nagar village in Rampur, is owned by the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, which was founded and is controlled by Khan. He also serves as its honorary chancellor.
ED alleges diversion of government funds to build university
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the ED's Lucknow zonal office said its investigation under the PMLA had identified assets worth ₹426.46 crore as alleged proceeds of crime.
The agency has alleged that government funds, construction materials and donations from contractors executing public works were diverted towards the construction of the university campus. It arrived at the attachment value after comparing the assessed cost of the campus with the expenditure it considered to have been backed by legitimate sources.
According to details emerging from the investigation, a valuation report prepared by the District Valuation Officer in November 2023 assessed the construction cost of 59 buildings on the campus at ₹494.46 crore. The land acquired through 114 sale deeds was valued at ₹4.63 crore, taking the estimated total cost of the university complex to ₹499.09 crore.
However, the trust's income tax records showed capital expenditure of only ₹78.32 crore. The ED said it could trace legitimate sources for only ₹72.63 crore of the overall expenditure, identifying the remaining ₹426.46 crore as alleged proceeds of crime.
The agency has also alleged that construction materials purchased through government-funded public works contracts were used at the university. Its investigation is examining the role of the trust, Khan and others in the alleged diversion of public resources.
The money laundering probe follows allegations of financial irregularities and illegal acquisition of land linked to the university. The ED has also taken cognisance of several criminal cases registered against Khan and associates in Uttar Pradesh.
High Court suspends sentence in dual PAN card case
Khan's release from Rampur jail followed the Allahabad High Court's decision on October 29 to suspend the sentences awarded to him and his son Abdullah in the alleged dual PAN card case and grant them bail.
The two had been serving a 10-year prison sentence in the case. Their release, however, was short-lived for Khan, as the ED took him into custody in the separate money laundering investigation immediately after he walked out of prison.
The agency's investigation into the alleged financial irregularities involving the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and the university is continuing.