LUCKNOW: In another jolt to beleaguered senior SP leader and former MP Azam Khan, a local court of Rampur on Wednesday sentenced him, his wife Tanzeen Fatima and son Abdullah Azam Khan to seven years imprisonment each in connection with the case related to the alleged forgery of his son’s birth certificate.
After the verdict, Azam Khan, his wife and son were taken into custody and sent to Rampur jail. The case of forged birth documents of Abdullah Azam dates back to January 3, 2019, when a local resident, Akash Saxena (now BJP MLA from Rampur), submitted a complaint to police alleging that Azam Khan and his wife received two birth certificates for their son which were made through fraudulent means.
The first certificate states Abdullah was born in Rampur while the other mentions Lucknow as his birthplace. The first certificate was issued on June 28, 2012 by Rampur municipality on the basis of an oath letter submitted by Tanzeen Fatima and Azam Khan.
The second one was issued on January 21, 2015, by the Lucknow municipality based on a certificate given by Mary Hospital in Lucknow. Abdullah is accused of using the first one for his passport and travels abroad, while the other for government records and for getting affiliation with Jauhar University.
They were convicted under Sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for cheating), 471 (forged document) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. Azam Khan’s counsel Nasir Sultan said they would file an appeal against the judgment in the higher court.
‘Being targeted’
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed that Azam Khan and his family were being targeted to intimidate one particular section of the society. Since the BJP came to power in the state, 81 cases have been registered against Khan in Rampur on various charges, including land-grabbing, cheating and criminal trespass.