The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached land and buildings belonging to the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Uttar Pradesh, established by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, in connection with a money laundering investigation against him, the central agency said on Wednesday.
The properties, located in Rampur and attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), have an estimated current market value of around Rs 1,170 crore, according to the ED.
The university and its campus are owned by the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, founded and controlled by Khan, who also serves as the institution’s honorary chancellor.
The ED said its investigation allegedly uncovered the diversion of government funds, construction materials and other public resources for the development of the private university. The agency claimed that a significant portion of the campus’s construction expenses could not be traced to legitimate sources, identifying Rs 426.46 crore as alleged proceeds of crime.
According to the ED, only Rs 72.63 crore of the overall construction cost could be accounted for through legitimate sources. It also found that donations worth Rs 12.29 crore, which the trust had declared as capital expenditure, were not genuine.
GOVERNMENT FUNDS AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS ALLEGEDLY DIVERTED
The investigation indicated that funds allocated for public works were allegedly diverted to the university. Government-funded projects were reportedly carried out on its private campus, while contractors awarded public contracts allegedly channelled money back to the trust as donations.
Khan served as a cabinet minister in the Uttar Pradesh government led by Akhilesh Yadav in 2015 and 2016, overseeing the Urban Development portfolio. The ED said the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, which carried out construction work on the university campus, operated under his department.
According to the agency, the managing director of a company that secured Public Works Department (PWD) contracts worth approximately Rs 186 crore allegedly admitted that 30 to 40 per cent of the contract amount was used to procure construction materials for the university.
Partners of another firm reportedly told investigators that they worked under Khan’s influence and that their company had donated Rs 40 lakh to the trust.
The ED further alleged that development work worth Rs 6.6 crore was undertaken on the university’s private campus using funds from MLA/MLC local area development schemes. The work was carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, which was under Khan’s charge at the time, the agency said.
The Uttar Pradesh government had approved Rs 23.41 crore for constructing a pandal, an OBC boys’ hostel and a hospital block on the campus. The ED has particularly flagged the pandal project, for which Rs 12.16 crore was sanctioned in 2015.
The agency said the original government order stipulated that the state Culture Department would retain ownership of the structure. It also prohibited its sale or transfer and required that the pandal be made available to the state government free of charge.
However, a subsequent order issued in 2016 allegedly transferred ownership of the pandal to Jauhar University and removed the requirement that it remain available for government use.
The ED launched its money laundering probe based on 26 FIRs registered at the Azeem Nagar police station in Rampur. These complaints alleged that farmers’ agricultural land had been forcibly acquired for the university.
The agency also referred to an inquiry report prepared by the Rampur district administration, which alleged that 45 plots of enemy property covering approximately 34 acres in Singhankhera village had been illegally occupied for the institution.
According to the report, the occupation continued even after the Custodian of Enemy Property cancelled the trust’s lease. The ED said the land was subsequently reclaimed by the Custodian of Enemy Property under the Union Home Ministry through the district administration.
During its investigation, the ED provided the Uttar Pradesh Police with information concerning the alleged diversion of government funds and other irregularities.
Following this, an FIR was registered earlier this month at Azeem Nagar police station against Khan, the trust and others. The agency also said it had taken up 28 additional FIRs, with charge sheets filed in most of those cases.
Azam Khan is currently in jail following convictions in several criminal cases, including a 10-year prison sentence in a dual PAN card forgery case and a two-year sentence over remarks made during the 2019 election campaign.
