LUCKNOW: Former Samajwadi Party MLA Abdullah Azam Khan walked out of the Hardoi jail in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday after spending 17 months behind bars. SP leaders and supporters flocked to the prison gates in large numbers to welcome Khan who is the son of jailed SP stalwart and former UP cabinet minister Azam Khan.
Abdullah Azam Khan is a former MLA from Suar assembly constituency of Rampur. Rampur MP/MLA special magistrate trial court Judge Shobhit Bansal recently granted him bail in a case related to enemy properties registered against him in 2020.
While he did not speak to the media, his lawyer Satnam Singh Nattu claimed that the entire country knew that he and his family were persecuted and imprisoned. “Today, we thank God, Allah, Waheguru for paving way for Abdullah Bhai's release. He will finally walk free and return home today," he said outside Hardoi jail.
As news of his impending release spread, his supporters started gathering outside the prison, along with Moradabad MP and SP leader Ruchi Veera.
Over the years, 45 cases, including one related to machine theft, had been registered against him and he had secured bail in all of them. His release was delayed due to procedural issues related to bail verification. On Monday, the release order from the MP-MLA Magistrate Trial Court was sent to Hardoi jail, paving the way for his freedom.
He was disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on February 14, 2023 following his conviction and two-year jail term in a 15-year-old case. Along with his father Azam Khan, he was sentenced under Section 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) over a dharna on a state highway on January 29, 2008 as their cavalcade was stopped by police for checking in the wake of an attack on a CRPF camp in Rampur on December 31, 2007.
This was his second disqualification from the Assembly. He was earlier disqualified in 2020 after the Allahabad High Court had set aside his election to the Assembly. His previous disqualification was effective from December 16, 2019. Former state cabinet minister Azam Khan is currently lodged in Sitapur jail in connection with various cases.