LUCKNOW: Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former lawmaker Azam Khan was remanded to 14 days of judicial custody by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad on Sunday.
Khan will be lodged in Dasna District Jail in Ghaziabad instead of Rampur jail, from where he had been released on Saturday.
As per the sources, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) produced Azam Khan before Special Judge Anti-Corruption CBI court, Avanish Kumar Pandey at around 10.30 am amid tight security. A convoy of five ED vehicles brought him to the court premises, accompanied by more than 100 personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Uttar Pradesh Police.
Khan appeared calm when he arrived at the court in a MUV car. As he rolled down the window, journalists asked whether he wanted to say something. He responded, "Ab kya reh gaya hai bolne ko" (What is left to say now?).
The court gave the order after hearing the matter for about 90 minutes. The ED counsel, Kuldeep Srivastava, argued on behalf of the agency, while ED’s Deputy Director Piyush Thorat and Assistant Director Praveen Kumar remained present inside the court.
The court's order came after the ED arrested Khan on Saturday evening in connection with a money laundering case registered by the agency in 2019. He was taken into custody shortly after being released from Rampur District Jail and was subsequently brought to the ED headquarters in Delhi for questioning.
Thereafter, Azam complained of a chest and stomachache, following which a team of CRPF and ED took the former minister to RML hospital in Delhi and got him checked up. After clearance from a specialist team of doctors at the RML, he was brought to ED HQ and questioned again.
According to officials, Khan was questioned at length in connection with the alleged misuse of government funds in the construction of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur. During the interrogation, the agency reportedly put more than 50 questions to him as part of its investigation into the alleged financial irregularities.
Khan and his son, Abdullah Azam, had walked out of Rampur jail at around 7.15 pm on Saturday after spending nearly 11 months in custody. His release had become possible after the Allahabad High Court, on October 29, suspended his 10-year sentence in the two PAN card case.
However, his release proved short-lived, as the ED arrested him in the money laundering case before he could return to normal life outside prison.
The developments triggered sharp political reactions. Samajwadi Party national general secretary Shivpal Singh Yadav criticised the government, alleging that the ED acted at its behest to arrest Khan immediately after his release from jail. He called upon people to speak out against what he described as oppressive governments.
BJP leaders, on the other hand, defended the ED's action, maintaining that the law was equal for everyone.
Uttar Pradesh Energy Minister AK Sharma said that the law applies equally to everyone, irrespective of their position or identity. He remarked that people sometimes disregard the law when they become consumed by the arrogance of power, but eventually everyone has to face its consequences.
