SP leader Azam Khan detained by ED minutes after release from jail

Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan was detained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) minutes after walking out of Rampur jail on Saturday, following his release on bail in the dual PAN card case.

The ED detained Khan outside the jail premises in connection with an alleged money laundering case involving Mohammad Ali Jauhar University and the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust.

“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 its Lucknow zonal office told Hindustan Times.

The agency is investigating alleged financial irregularities involving Khan, the trust and others. On Wednesday, the ED attached land and buildings belonging to Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, estimating their current market value at around Rs 1,170 crore.

According to the agency, its investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) identified assets worth Rs 426.46 crore as alleged proceeds of crime. The ED has alleged that government funds, construction materials and donations from contractors executing public works were diverted towards building the university campus.

Khan, who founded and controls the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, is also the university's honorary chancellor.

His detention came shortly after the Allahabad High Court granted bail to him and his son, Abdullah Azam Khan, in the dual PAN card case. The court suspended their sentences while granting them relief.