New Delhi: Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Mohammad Azam Khan was remanded to 14 days of judicial custody on Sunday following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur.
Khan was released from jail on Saturday after the Allahabad High Court suspended his sentence and granted him bail in the dual PAN card case. However, the ED arrested him shortly afterwards in connection with its investigation into alleged financial irregularities involving the university, which is owned by the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust founded and controlled by him.
The special court that remanded Khan to judicial custody directed jail authorities to ensure that he receives proper medical treatment. He will be lodged at Dasna jail in Ghaziabad.
According to sources, the ED told the court that Khan was withholding information and evidence relevant to the investigation. The agency argued that his custodial interrogation was necessary to identify the alleged proceeds of crime, trace their utilisation, establish the money trail and confront him with documents and witnesses.
The investigation concerns alleged irregularities in the acquisition of land and the funding and construction of the university.
On October 28, the ED provisionally attached the university's land and buildings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The properties have an original value of Rs 426.46 crore and an estimated current market value of around Rs 1,170 crore.
The probe stems from 26 FIRs registered at Azeem Nagar police station in Rampur, alleging that agricultural land belonging to farmers was forcibly acquired for the university. It also covers allegations that 45 plots of enemy property, measuring around 34 acres, were illegally occupied in Singhankhera village.
The ED has further alleged that government funds meant for public works were diverted towards the university's construction, that government-funded projects were executed on its private campus and that contractors routed a portion of their earnings back to the trust as donations.
According to the agency, a company awarded Public Works Department contracts worth around Rs 186 crore allegedly used 30-40 per cent of the contract value to purchase construction materials for the university. The ED also found that works worth Rs 6.60 crore were undertaken on the campus using MLA and MLC local area development funds.
The investigation further identified Rs 23.41 crore sanctioned by the Uttar Pradesh government for infrastructure projects on the campus, including a pandal, an OBC boys' hostel and a hospital block.
An assessment by the District Valuation Officer estimated the construction cost of 59 buildings on the campus at Rs 494.46 crore. The land, acquired through 114 sale deeds, was valued at Rs 4.63 crore, taking the total campus valuation to Rs 499.09 crore. However, the trust had declared capital expenditure of only Rs 78.32 crore in its income-tax returns.
The ED has identified Rs 426.46 crore as alleged proceeds of crime and provisionally attached the university's properties to that extent.
Khan's legal team has challenged the arrest, alleging that it was carried out without due process and describing the case as a political conspiracy.