The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached 59 buildings at Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, in a money laundering investigation involving alleged diversion of government funds. The properties are estimated to be worth Rs 1,170 crore, while the agency has pegged the alleged proceeds of crime at Rs 426.46 crore. The probe, based on 54 police FIRs, examines the alleged use of public project funds for the private institution through the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust.
ED Attaches Azam Khan University in Rs 1,170 Crore Money Laundering Probe
The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur for allegedly diverting public money for developing the private institution.
The Azam Khan University money laundering probe gained momentum on Wednesday after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) provisionally attached land and buildings of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Uttar Pradesh, which is estimated to be worth Rs 1,170 crore. The agency says the government funds were intended for public works, but were used for the private institution.
The university is in Rampur district and was promoted by Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan, who is in jail on multiple criminal charges. The ED has put the estimated proceeds of crime in the case at Rs 426.46 crore.
ED's Property Attachment Under PMLA
In a provisional order, the federal agency attached 59 buildings on the university campus under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The land and buildings were registered and constructed at a cost of Rs 499 crore, but their present market value is estimated at Rs 1,170 crore, the ED said.
The agency has alleged that Khan used the post of former Cabinet minister in charge of Urban Development and Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam to facilitate the alleged irregularities.
The Rampur Development Authority ordered the demolition of 38 university buildings in July, leading the university to file an appeal. In August, the ED carried out searches in connection with the case and questioned Khan, who is in Rampur jail.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav recently met Khan in jail and accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of political vendetta and lodging false cases against his former Cabinet colleague.
Mohammad Ali Jauhar University Money Laundering Allegations
The ED probe is based on 54 first information reports (FIRs) filed by the Uttar Pradesh Police. The agency is probing allegations of land acquisition, government expenditure and movement of funds through Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust.
The ED said the trust owns the university campus at Jauhar Nagar, village Singhankhera, Rampur. Khan, who is also honorary Chancellor of the university, founded and controls the trust that runs Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, set up in 2006, and a public school in the district.
The agency says funds for public works have been diverted to the university, while contractors on government projects allegedly returned money to the trust as donations.
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Land Disputes and Public Fund Diversion
The first FIRs filed at the Azeem Nagar police station allege that farmers’ agricultural land was forcibly taken over for the university. The Rampur district administration has reportedly found 45 plots of enemy property in Singhankhera village spanning about 34 acres that were illegally occupied even after cancellation of the trust’s lease.
The possession was recovered by the custodian of enemy property under the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Rampur administration, the ED said.
Other allegations relate to the demolition of houses of several families in Rampur city in 2016. The agency said a mob, allegedly led by the then circle officer and others, demolished houses occupied by families, many of whom were tenants of Waqf property, allegedly on the instructions of Khan. Residents were said to have been robbed, assaulted, and threatened.
The ED has alleged that the demolition debris was taken to the university and the cleaning machinery bought for Rampur municipal corporation was diverted to the university campus.
Contractors and Donations Under Investigation
The agency said works worth Rs 6.60 crore were taken up at the university using local area development funds of Members of the Legislative Assembly and Members of the Legislative Council. The works were allegedly carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, which was chaired by Khan then.
It is alleged that the trust received Rs 6.24 crore donations from two Meerut-based educational institutions through political influence. The ED also claimed that in 2015-16, a public pandal built with Rs 12 crore of state funds was converted into private university property.
The agency said a managing director of a company, which got contracts worth Rs 186 crore from the Public Works Department, said 30-40 per cent of the contract value was used to buy materials for construction for the university. Partners of another firm allegedly confessed to having donated Rs 40 lakh to the trust under the influence of Khan.
The probe continues to focus on the agency’s claims and its financial evidence. The outcome of the attachment and the claims against Khan and the trust will be decided in further legal proceedings, Sprouts News reported.
