New Delhi, Oct 28 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has attached the land and building of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan-promoted Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Uttar Pradesh under the anti-money laundering law.
The federal probe agency alleged that government funds meant for public works were diverted for the construction of the private varsity, which has a current market value of approximately Rs 1,170 crore, located in Rampur district.
It accused the jailed 78-year-old SP leader of using his influence as the Cabinet minister of Urban Development and the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam for these alleged irregularities.
A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach the property comprising 59 buildings.
The land and the buildings were registered and constructed at a cost of Rs 499 crore but they currently command a current market value of Rs 1,170 crore, the ED said in a statement.
It added that the estimated proceeds of crime in the case are Rs 426.46 crore.
“The University campus at Jauhar Nagar, Village Singhankhera, Rampur, is held by the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, which was founded and is controlled by Mohammad Azam Khan, who is also the honorary Chancellor of the University,” the ED said.
The agency carried out raids in this case in August and also questioned Khan, who is lodged in Rampur jail facing multiple criminal charges.
The Lucknow-headquartered trust runs the Muhammad Ali Jauhar University, founded in 2006, and a public school in the Rampur district.
The ED said it has taken cognisance of 54 FIRs filed by Uttar Pradesh Police to move forward with its money laundering investigation against Khan and his trust.
It added that funds meant for public works were “diverted” to the university and government works were executed on its private campus and funds from contractors (who had been allotted government contracts) were routed back to the trust as donations.
The first set of police FIRs filed at the Azeem Nagar police station of Rampur allege that agricultural land of farmers was “forcibly” taken over for the university.
An inquiry report prepared by the Rampur district administration found that 45 plots of enemy property measuring about 34 acres in Singhankhera village were “illegally” occupied by Khan for the university, even after the lease of this land to the trust had been cancelled by the custodian.
The possession of this land has been taken back by the custodian of enemy property, under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), through the Rampur administration, according to the ED.
The second set of police FIRs and charge sheets filed before courts allege that during 2016, the houses of several families in Rampur city, many of whom were tenants of Waqf property, were demolished with bulldozers by a mob allegedly led by the then circle officer and others on the instructions of Khan, the ED said.
The occupants were assaulted, threatened with false criminal cases, and robbed of their cash, jewellery and cattle. The debris from the demolished houses were transported to the university and cleaning machinery purchased for the Rampur municipal corporation were also “diverted” to the university.
It was found that works worth Rs 6.60 crore were executed at the university using MLA/MLC local area development funds. These works were executed by the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, of which Khan was then the chairman, the ED claimed.
It added that the trust received donations worth Rs 6.24 crore from two Meerut-based educational entities through political influence.
The ED alleged that a public ‘pandal’ was created in the university using Rs 12 crore state government funds but it was converted into a private property of the educational institution during 2015-16 when Khan was a cabinet minister of the departments that created the said infrastructure.
The agency recorded the statement of the managing director of a company which received PWD contracts worth Rs 186 crore.
He “admitted” that 30-40 per cent of the contract value was used to buy construction material for the university. The partners of another firm admitted that they operated “under the influence of” Khan to donate Rs 40 lakh to the said trust, it said.
(PTI News)
