SP veteran Azam Khan, 5 aides acquitted in 2016 Rampur property grab case
Court cites lack of evidence; 12 FIRs filed against ex-minister, his aides for allegedly demolishing houses
3 min read
Since the BJP came to power in UP in 2017, a total of 81 cases have been registered against Azam, also a former MP, in Rampur district.Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan was acquitted along with five of his associates by a special court on Monday citing lack of evidence in a case of alleged property grabbing in the Dongarpur area of Rampur district in 2016.
In the past two years, Khan, who is currently lodged in the Sitapur district jail, has been convicted in six cases.
The others acquitted on Monday are Fasahat Ali Khan, alias Shanoo, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Ikram, Shazeb Khan and Barkat Ali, a contractor.
A total of 12 FIRs were registered at the Ganj police station in 2019 against the ex-minister and his associates for allegedly demolishing several houses to develop a colony in Dongarpur in 2016 when the Samajwadi Party was in power in the state.
With Monday’s judgment, four cases related to the Dongarpur house demolitions have been decided. Of the four cases, Azam has been acquitted in two and convicted in the remaining two.
“The court examined 10 prosecution witnesses. Azam Khan appeared before the court via video conferencing, while the other accused appeared in person,” said government counsel Seema Singh Rana.
According to the prosecution, Guddu Khan, a local resident, filed the FIR against Azam and others, alleging some people demolished his house on December 6, 2016 on the directions of the then minister. The complainant also alleged that the group also had molested a female member of his family.
The FIR was filed in 2019 against Azam and others under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman to outrage her modesty), 447 (punishment for criminal trespass), 452 (house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault, or wrongful restraint), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of the peace), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
Since the BJP came to power in UP in 2017, a total of 81 cases have been registered against Azam, also a former MP, in Rampur district. The charges range from land-grabbing to cheating and criminal trespass. In some instances, Azam’s wife Tanzeen Fatima, and son Abdullah Azam have been named as co-accused.
On May 30, the Rampur court sentenced Khan to 10 years of imprisonment in a case of alleged property grab in Dongarpur. The court also sentenced Khan’s associate Barkat Ali to seven years of imprisonment in the case.
Tanzeen is out on bail while the couple’s son Abdullah Azam is in jail.
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