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

The ED apprehended him from outside the jail premises in an alleged money laundering case.

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was on Saturday 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.

ALSO READ: ₹1,170 cr">Money laundering case: ED attaches Azam Khan’s Jauhar University assets worth ₹1,170 cr

The ED 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.

‘Punishment for being a Muslim,’ alleges Khan

Upon being apprehended by ED, Khan said, "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."

A large contingent of central paramilitary forces and police personnel was deployed alongside officials from the federal agency's Lucknow zone during the proceedings. Meanwhile, Khan's supporters were heard raising slogans in his favour.

The Allahabad High Court on Thursday suspended the sentences awarded to Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam Khan in the alleged dual PAN card case, granting bail to both of them.

Money laundering case against Azam Khan

In a statement issued on Wednesday, 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.