ED arrests senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan minutes after release from Rampur Jail

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday arrested senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan minutes after he walked out of Rampur district jail following the Allahabad High Court's decision to grant him bail in the alleged dual PAN card case.

The 78-year-old former Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister was arrested by officials of the agency's Lucknow zonal office in connection with its money laundering investigation into alleged financial irregularities involving the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, people in the know said.

The agency is expected to produce Khan before a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and seek his remand for questioning.


Khan's arrest came two days after the Allahabad High Court suspended the sentences awarded to him and his son Abdullah Azam Khan in the alleged dual PAN card case and granted them bail. The relief, however, did not extend to the separate money laundering investigation being pursued by the ED.

The agency had on Wednesday provisionally attached the land and buildings of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University under the anti-money laundering law. The properties have an estimated current market value of ₹1,170 cr, while their book value has been assessed at ₹426.46 cr.