LUCKNOW: A day after prolonged questioning of jailed Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) got an FIR registered against him, the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and others over alleged unexplained expenditure of Rs 416.14 crore on the construction of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur on Wednesday.
The case was registered at Azeemnagar police station in Rampur district under Sections 61 (criminal conspiracy), 316(5) and 318(4) (criminal breach of trust) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Sections 7, 13(1)(d) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The FIR names Azam Khan, the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, SS and S Enterprises, SS Chik Associates Private Limited and others. The university campus in Signankheda village, within the Azeemnagar police station area, is the principal location mentioned in the case.
The ED, during its probe, had found a significant mismatch between the university's declared expenditure and the assessed value of the institution's construction. According to ED sources, an Income Tax Department valuation report dated November 10, 2023, estimated the cost of the buildings on the campus at Rs 494.46 crore, while the trust's income-tax returns from FY 2013-14 to FY 2024-25 disclosed capital expenditure of only Rs 78.32 crore, leaving an alleged unexplained gap of Rs 416.14 crore.
The ED alleged that Azam Khan, the university's founder-chancellor and lifetime chairman of the trust, exercised complete control over its affairs.
Statements by trust members, including Mohd Faseeh Zaidi, Mushtaq Ahmad Siddique and ZR Siddique, reportedly indicated that they neither attended executive committee meetings nor participated in key decisions.
The investigation also pointed to the alleged diversion of public resources to the university. The ED claimed that contractors, largely based in Rampur, secured government contracts through Azam Khan's influence when he was a Cabinet minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government (2012-17) and diverted construction materials purchased for public works to the university campus.
The agency cited the statement of Pawan Kumar Jain, managing director of Ceekay Associates Pvt Ltd, who allegedly told investigators that his company secured government contracts worth around Rs 186 crore between 2013-14 and 2016-17 and diverted 30-40% of the contract value towards university construction. Based on the lower estimate, the ED calculated that at least Rs 55.8 crore had been diverted.
The ED also flagged three projects executed by UP Jal Nigam on the campus, including a grand pandal, an OBC boys' hostel and a hospital, for which Rs 23.41 crore was sanctioned. It alleged that assets created with public money were eventually transferred to the private university. Another Rs 6.60 crore was allegedly spent on works inside the campus through MLA/MLC constituency development funds.
According to the agency, government-linked funds and resources worth Rs 85.81 crore were used on the campus through these routes.
The probe has also brought donations under scrutiny. The ED alleged that contractors who benefited from government contracts routed part of their gains to the trust. It cited AS Enterprises, which allegedly secured contracts worth around Rs 25 crore and later donated Rs 40 lakh to the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust.
