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

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was on Friday detained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) minutes after he was released on bail from Rampur jail.

The ED apprehended him from outside the jail premises in an alleged money laundering case. "We have apprehended Azam Khan. After following arrest procedures, we will arrest him and produce before Ghaziabad, PMLA court,” Lucknow Zonal official confirmed to HT.

The Enforcement Directorate is probing a money laundering case against the former Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister, the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and others. The probe agency on Wednesday attached land and buildings of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, estimating their current market value at approximately ₹1,170 crore.

Located in Jauhar Nagar village, the university is owned by the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, founded and controlled by Azam Khan, who is also its honorary chancellor.

In a statement issued on the matter, the ED’s Lucknow zonal office said its investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) had identified assets worth ₹426.46 crore as alleged proceeds of crime. The agency claimed that government funds, construction materials and donations from contractors executing public works had been diverted to build the university campus.

The ED arrived at the attachment value after comparing the assessed cost of the campus with expenditure it considered supported by legitimate sources.