On Saturday, 31 October, Senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was arrested by the ED, moments after he walked out of Rampur district jail following nearly 11 months in custody. His son, Abdullah Azam Khan, was released and returned home, while the 78-year-old father was taken into custody in connection with a separate money-laundering investigation.
The dramatic sequence unfolded outside the prison gates, where hundreds of supporters had gathered to welcome Khan. An ED team from the agency’s Lucknow zone, accompanied by around 24 CRPF personnel, had arrived at the jail before Khan’s release and approached him as he emerged around 6:30 pm. After a brief and heated exchange, Khan was taken away in an agency vehicle. He is expected to be produced before a special PMLA court in Ghaziabad on Sunday (1 November), where the ED will seek custodial remand.
The arrest relates to a 2019 Enforcement Case Information Report registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, stemming from financial irregularities linked to the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and the university it runs in Rampur.
The ED has said that government funds meant for public works were diverted toward the construction of the private university, and that Khan misused his position as the state’s cabinet minister for urban development to facilitate the irregularities. Earlier this week, the agency attached land and buildings belonging to Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, with an estimated market value of ₹1,170 crore.
The release that preceded the arrest came after the Allahabad High Court on 29 October suspended the sentences and granted bail to Khan and his son in a dual PAN card case.
The court, however, declined to stay their convictions, meaning their disqualification from contesting elections remains in force. Rampur jail superintendent Rajesh Yadav confirmed that release orders had been received in 50 cases involving Azam Khan and 40 involving Abdullah.
For Khan, Saturday’s episode marked the end of his third jail stint since 2020. He was first jailed in February 2020 and released in May 2022 after interim bail from the Supreme Court. A second stint ran from October 2023 to September 2025, and the third began on November 17, 2025.
