The Income Tax department is conducting raids at the premises of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh in relation to a tax evasion probe against the former cabinet minister. Raids are also being conducted at Regency Public School and Regency Institute of Management and Technology in Sitapur and at the residence of an advocate Mushtaq Ahmed Siddiqui in Lucknow.
The raids are reportedly linked to the Al Jauhar Trust. At least 30 premises across Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were searched including in Lucknow, Rampur, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur, and Sitapur as part of a tax evasion probe against Azam Khan.
Source-based reports claim raids are also underway at the house of Samajwadi Party MLA Naseer Ahmad Khan, a close aide of Azam Khan. The MLA also holds office in the Al Jauhar Trust.
Azam Khan is the head of the Al Jauhar Trust. A lease for a 3.24-acre plot of the Trust was cancelled by the Uttar Pradesh government earlier this year. The plot was reportedly given to the Trust to set up a research institute and the lease was signed in 2013-14 for Rs 100 a year for over 30 years.
The same was cancelled by the government on charges of irregularities. The research institute was never built.
Reports claim Azam Khan and his family were present at his Rampur residence during the raids. A convoy of vehicles of the I-T department was seen parked outside the SP leader’s house which was surrounded by Central forces.
Reports citing sources claim that the raids were conducted based on several inputs. The agency has reportedly seized several documents and electronic equipment. The seized material could likely reveal details of major transactions.
As many as 81 cases have been registered against Azam Khan in Rampur on several charges including land-grabbing, cheating, and criminal trespass. His wife and son were also booked in some of these cases but all three are out on bail.
Earlier, the SP leader was charged with laundering black money during demonetisation and accused of owning assets exceeding his earnings. A case was filed in this regard in Lucknow. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted interrogations in this regard in Rampur.