The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached land and buildings of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur district of Uttar Pradesh, with a book value of Rs 426.46 crore and an estimated current market value of around Rs 1,170 crore, the agency said on Wednesday. Yaani, the market value cited by the agency is about Rs 11.7 billion. The attachment was made by the ED's Lucknow zonal office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case against the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Mohammad Azam Khan, and others.
Source: ANI
The university campus is at Jauhar Nagar in Singhankhera village of Rampur and is held by the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, which the ED said was founded and is controlled by Azam Khan, who is also the university's honorary Chancellor.
Source: IANS
According to the ED, the investigation began on the basis of 26 FIRs registered at Azeem Nagar police station in Rampur, alleging that agricultural land belonging to farmers was forcibly taken over for the university. These are allegations in the FIRs and in the agency's statement, not findings of a court.
Source: ANI
The agency said an inquiry by the Rampur district administration also found that 45 plots of enemy property, measuring about 34 acres at Singhankhera village, were allegedly occupied for the university even after the lease of the land to the Trust had been cancelled by the Custodian of Enemy Property. The ED said possession of that land has since been taken back by the Custodian through the district administration.
Source: ANI
The ED further alleged that funds meant for public works were diverted to the university, government-funded works were executed on its private campus, and money from contractors who had been allotted government contracts was routed back to the Trust as donations. The agency presented these as findings of its investigation; they remain allegations to be tested in court.
Source: IANS
The ED said it has also taken up investigation of 28 additional FIRs registered against Azam Khan and others in Rampur, including allegations that several houses were demolished in 2016 and that material and equipment linked to public projects were diverted for use at the university campus, matters the agency said form part of police charge sheets. The wire reports of the attachment did not carry a response from Azam Khan or the Trust.
Source: PTI