ED attaches Jauhar University properties worth Rs. 1,170 crore linked to Azam Khan over money laundering

 

 

According to the ED, its investigation began on the basis of 26 FIRs registered at the Azeem Nagar police station in Rampur under Section 384 of the Indian Penal Code and other provisions. The cases alleged that agricultural land belonging to farmers was forcibly taken over for the university.

 

The agency cited a district administration inquiry report stating that 45 plots of enemy property, measuring about 34 acres at Village Singhankhera, were also allegedly occupied by Azam Khan for the university. This reportedly took place even after the land had been cancelled from the trust's lease by the Custodian of Enemy Property.

 

The ED stated that possession of the land was subsequently taken back by the Custodian of Enemy Property, Ministry of Home Affairs, through the Rampur district administration.

 

During the investigation, the ED found that funds meant for public works at the university were allegedly diverted to the private campus. The agency also alleged that money received by contractors for government projects was routed back to the trust as donations.

 

The ED shared its findings with the Uttar Pradesh Police under Section 66(2) of the PMLA. Subsequently, FIR No. 0224/2026 was registered at Azeem Nagar police station on October 13, 2026, against Azam Khan, the trust and others.

 

The case invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, according to the agency.

 

The ED also referred to 28 other FIRs registered by the Rampur Police against Azam Khan and others. Charge sheets have been filed in most of these cases.

 

 

The agency's press release also refers to allegations that, during 2016, houses belonging to several families in Rampur city were demolished using bulldozers. The affected residents were allegedly tenants of waqf properties, and the demolitions were reportedly carried out by a mob led by the then Circle Officer and others on the instructions of Azam Khan.

 

According to the ED, occupants were assaulted, threatened with false criminal cases, and robbed of cash, jewellery and cattle. The agency further stated that debris from the demolished houses was transported to the university campus.

The FIRs and charge sheets cited by the agency claims that cleaning machinery purchased for the Rampur Nagar Palika was diverted to the university premises.

 

 

The ED stated that its investigation found that contractors, mostly based in Rampur, allegedly diverted funds and construction materials from government contracts to the university.

 

One company whose managing director received Public Works Department contracts worth approximately Rs. 186 crore reportedly admitted that 30 to 40 per cent of the contract value was used to purchase construction material for the university.

 

The partners of another firm allegedly stated that they operated under Azam Khan's influence and that the firm donated Rs. 40 lakh to the trust.

 

The agency also said the Income Tax Department had revoked the trust's registration under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, following similar findings.

 

 

The investigation further revealed that various works worth Rs. 6.60 crore were executed on the university's private campus using funds from the MLA/MLC Local Area Development scheme, according to the ED.

 

These works were reportedly carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, of which Azam Khan was the chairman at the time.

 

The agency also alleged that the trust received donations of Rs. 6.24 crore from two Meerut-based educational entities through political influence.

 

 

The ED's investigation also examined government sanctions worth Rs. 23.41 crore for the construction of a pandal, an Other Backward Classes (OBC) boys' hostel and a hospital block on the university's private campus.

 

According to the agency, a 2015 government order sanctioned Rs. 12.16 crore for the pandal on the condition that ownership would remain with the Uttar Pradesh government and that the structure would be made available free of cost for state government use.

 

The ED alleged that the conditions were subsequently altered in 2016. The ownership of the pandal was transferred to Jauhar University, while the requirement that it be made available for government use was deleted.

 

The agency stated that the works were executed when Azam Khan held the portfolios of Urban Development and Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam and were carried out under the Urban Development Department.

 

 

The agency also referred to a valuation report prepared by the District Valuation Officer, dated November 10, 2023, which assessed the cost of 59 buildings on the university campus at Rs. 494.46 crore.

 

The report valued the university's land, acquired through 114 sale deeds, at Rs. 4.63 crore. The total estimated cost of the campus was therefore assessed at Rs. 499.09 crore.

 

Against this valuation, the trust reportedly showed capital expenditure of only Rs. 78.32 crore in its income tax returns. Of this amount, Rs. 12.29 crore was found to be non-genuine, according to the ED, leaving Rs. 66.03 crore as genuine expenditure declared by the trust for constructing the university.

 

The agency stated that only Rs. 72.63 crore of the campus's total cost could be explained through legitimate sources. It alleged that the remaining Rs. 426.46 crore represented proceeds of crime generated through illegal means.

 

The ED said the trust's office-bearers could not substantiate the source of the remaining amount. On this basis, the land and buildings valued at Rs. 426.46 crore for attachment purposes, with an estimated market value of approximately Rs. 1,170 crore, were provisionally attached under the PMLA.

 

 

The ED said it had conducted searches at the university and related premises on August 19, 2026, during which electronic devices and records were seized.

 

The agency stated that further investigation in the case is underway. The attachment is provisional and forms part of the ongoing proceedings under the money laundering law.