The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recorded his statement on Wednesday Samajwadi Party MLA Mohammad Abdullah Azam in money laundering case. Abdullah, who was recently elected from Rampur’s Suar assembly seat, was summoned by the ED to join the probe.
The ED had registered a case against Abdullah’s father and senior SP leader Azam Khan in connection with the transfer of funds to the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, which runs the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University. Azam Khan is the founder and chancellor of the university.
A senior ED official said, “Abdullah’s statement will be recorded tomorrow (Thursday).” He said Azam’s wife Tanzin Fatima would also be called to join the investigation and record her statement. The ED has already questioned Azam Khan in this case.
Last year, the ED had issued notices to about two dozen people in this case. Most of the notices are from Rampur and they allegedly donated to the trust. The central government agency suspects that many people donating to the trust received government contracts for construction works and supplies of goods and materials as “kickbacks”. The ED had sent a letter to the Rampur district administration and the police, seeking information about Azam Khan, his trust and the university. Significantly, after spending nearly two years in jail, Azam Khan was released in May this year after getting bail in more than six dozen cases. On February 26, 2020, Khan, his wife and son surrendered before a local court in Rampur in a case related to the alleged forgery of Abdullah’s birth certificate.
Since BJP Came to power in 2017, 81 cases were registered against Azam Khan in various police stations of Rampur on various charges including land grabbing, cheating and criminal trespass. A case has also been registered against Azam’s wife Tanzin Fatima and son Abdullah Azam in some cases. 41 cases were registered against Abdullah and 32 against Fatima Tanzin. Tanzin Fatima got bail in December 2020 and Mohamed Abdullah was released in January.