Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam Khan. (Express File)Veteran Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan and his MLA son Abdullah Azam Khan are untraceable and have been skipping court appearances for some time, police said on Tuesday.
Azam, who is MLA from Rampur, and Abdullah had on September 22 returned their security cover provided by the state government, saying they did not need it.
Rampur Superintendent of Police (SP) Ashok Kumar said, “There is a case in a local court against Azam Khan over an alleged 2019 hate speech. The trial is in final stages and the verdict is expected soon. Azam skipped appearances on September 17, 19, and 23, saying he could not come since he had a heart surgery. The court then formed a committee headed by the Chief Medical Officer to assess whether he was fit to come to court or not. Azam’s lawyer was then asked to share his whereabouts. But the lawyer said he did not know where Azam was.”
“Now, it is up to the court to decide what action to take. We will follow the court’s order,” the SP added.
A senior police officer said that Abdullah also skipped some court appearances in the past one week. “They returned the security cover when they were at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi. When security personnel were sent to their residence, the two were not there,” he said.
Another armed guard, who was deployed for the security of Abdullah, too came back, the officer added.
Police had earlier said that three security personnel were provided to Azam Khan under the Y-category security.
Azam was released earlier this year after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail. He is facing nearly 90 cases, including that of corruption and theft.