Lucknow/Rampur, Oct 31 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan in a money laundering case, shortly after he and his son Abdullah Azam Khan were released from Rampur jail on bail in an alleged dual PAN cards case, officials said.
The 78-year-old leader will be produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad on Sunday, where the agency will seek his remand for custodial interrogation, they said.
Khan was arrested by officials of the ED’s Lucknow zone amid a heavy deployment of central paramilitary forces and Uttar Pradesh Police personnel.
Speaking to reporters outside Rampur district jail, where he had been lodged since November 2025, Khan said, “Kehne ko kya hai (there is nothing to say)… this is a punishment for being a Muslim… the mistake is that a Muslim made a university and school for students…”
He also raised his hand to greet supporters, who were heard raising slogans in his favour.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, speaking to reporters outside Lucknow airport, said, “Do not expect that you will get justice from the BJP.”
Asked about Khan’s remark that he was being punished for being a Muslim, Yadav said whatever the former minister had said was true, adding that people could not expect justice from the BJP.
Khan and his son secured relief from the Allahabad High Court on Thursday after it suspended their sentences in the dual PAN cards case.
The ED has registered a money laundering case against Khan and others, taking cognisance of 58 FIRs registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police against him and his alleged associates.
On Wednesday, the agency said it had attached the land and buildings of Khan’s Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur under the anti-money laundering law. The assets have a current market value of Rs 1,170 crore, it said.
The agency alleged that government funds meant for public works were diverted to construct the private university. It accused Khan of using his influence as the state’s cabinet minister for urban development and the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam to facilitate the alleged irregularities.
The Rampur Development Authority had ordered the demolition of 38 buildings on the university campus in July, following which the university filed an appeal.
Yadav had recently met Khan in jail and accused the BJP government of pursuing a political vendetta against his former cabinet colleague, alleging that false cases had been lodged against him.
The ED conducted raids in the case in August and also questioned Khan.
(PTI News)
