Rampur court orders reinvestigation in ‘illegal’ demolition case against SP’s Azam Khan
Khan, who was urban development minister at the time, was accused of orchestrating illegal demolition with the help of govt officials
3 min read
Since the BJP came to power in the state in 2017, at least 83 cases have been filed against Azam Khan on various charges. (File Photo)A court in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur district has directed the police to reinvestigate a 2007 case of the demolition of a factory against jailed Samajwadi Party senior leader and former minister Azam Khan.
Khan, who was the urban development minister at the time of the incident which took place in 2006, was accused of orchestrating the illegal demolition with the help of government officials.
He is currently lodged in the Sitapur district jail in connection with other cases.
The complainant, Afsar Khan, filed a case in 2007 alleging that his factory was demolished after he refused to pay extortion money demanded for the construction of Jauhar University, where Khan is the lifetime vice-chancellor.
After investigating the matter, the police filed a closure report in the court, citing a lack of evidence.
The complainant’s family, however, objected to the closure report, and submitted a protest application, alleging that certain aspects of the case were not properly investigated.
“While hearing the protest application, the court dismissed the closure report and directed further investigation into the matter,” said Rampur Superintendent of Police (SP) Vidya Sagar Mishra.
According to the police, after Mayawati came to power in 2007, her government set up counters for those whose complaints of harassment were ignored during Mulayam Singh Yadav’s tenure as chief minister and allowed them to file FIRs.
In July 2007, Afsar Khan filed the complaint, alleging that the district officials forcibly demolished his papad factory in July 2006 after he refused to pay Rs 5 lakh donation to Azam Khan for the construction of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University.
He claimed that he presented documents of the factory land to the administration team sent to demolish the building, but they refused to listen.
A case was subsequently registered at the Gang police station against Azam Khan on multiple charges, including extortion.
The police’s closure report was filed in the case in September 2007.
Since Afsar Khan had passed away, his son Zulfekar Khan submitted the protest application, pointing out issues that were not addressed during the investigation.
Since the BJP came to power in the state in 2017, at least 83 cases have been filed against Azam Khan on various charges, including land-grabbing, cheating, and criminal trespass. Over the past two years, Khan has been convicted in six of these cases.
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