13 cases of land grab lodged against Azam Khan, SP leader may face arrest

RAMPUR: Days after a section of media reported that the Uttar Pradesh government is mulling to declare Rampur MP Azam Khan a “land mafia” and initiate legal proceedings against him, as many as 13 cases of land grab to the tunes of several hundred crores of rupee have been registered against Azam and his aide Alay Hassan Khan, then Rampur circle officer, for the construction of Mohammed Ali Jauhar University, a multi-crore private university run by Azam’s Jauhar trust.
According to a case registered at Azim Nagar police station, Azam and Alay allegedly forged land documents of poor farmers to grab their agricultural land.
Rampur SP Ajay Pal Sharma told TOI, “A probe has been initiated into the allegations and if the charges are found to be true, we will begin the process to arrest the MP.”
“Twenty-six farmers have stated that Azam and Alay illegally detained them and pressured them to sign on forged sale deeds to acquire their land running into several thousand hectares. When they refused, their land was forcibly occupied. Aaly misused his official position in grabbing land. After verifying facts, we have registered a criminal case against Azam and Aaly,” said SP.
Azim Nagar station house officer Rajeev Chaudhry said, “All 13 FIRs have been registered under sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 384 (extortion) and 447 (criminal trespass) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The investigation into the charges has been initiated.”
“We have recorded statements of some of the Aliyaganj residents before registering FIRs. Besides, a fortnight ago, revenue inspector Manoj Kumar, too, had lodged an FIR against the Samajwadi Party MP and Alay for illegally occupying land on Kosi floodplains for the construction of university,” added SHO.
According to media reports, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has formed a committee to probe into allegations of illegal construction of Jauhar university on Kosi river floodplains in Rampur.
Meanwhile, terming the charges a “political vendetta”, Azam told TOI over phone from Delhi: “The FIRs were lodged without holding preliminary inquiry into the matter. We have registered deeds of the land with us and all payments were made through cheques. After 12 years, fake FIRs have been registered against us. Everybody knows who is behind the curtains. If BJP people are under impression that by manufacturing fake cases they can bend me, then they are hallucinating. Jauhar university is dedicated to the people of this country. All these developments are prelude to the upcoming Rampur by-elections.”
Mohammad Faheem, Bilari MLA, told TOI, “SP MLAs have decided to raise the issue of fake cases against Azam and his university in the assembly. The MLAs will also stage a protest in Rampur if the cases against Azam are not withdrawn, soon.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has, meanwhile, constituted a 21-member committee led by leader of opposition in the Legislative Council Ahmad Hasan, to probe “fake cases” lodged against Azam. The formation of the committee is seen as a bid to defend Azam and rake up the issue in the assembly which commences on Thursday.
(with inputs from agencies)