The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered an FIR against senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and others in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur over alleged financial irregularities linked to Mohammad Ali Jauhar University.
The agency is investigating the alleged diversion of government funds, donations made to the trust and the use of money for construction work at the university. According to reports, the FIR was registered at the Azeem Nagar police station in Rampur under provisions relating to alleged embezzlement of government funds and cheating.
On Tuesday, an ED team questioned Khan inside Rampur district jail as part of its ongoing money laundering investigation. The questioning reportedly continued for around eight hours, with officials seeking details about donations received by the trust, construction expenditure and financial transactions involving contractors and companies.
The ED has not issued an official statement detailing the outcome of the questioning.
ED Probes ₹494 Crore Construction Expenditure
According to reports, the agency is examining expenditure of around ₹494 crore shown for construction work at Mohammad Ali Jauhar University. Investigators are seeking supporting financial records and accounts to establish how the money was raised and spent.
The ED is also probing allegations that construction materials worth around ₹85 crore, purchased using government funds during Khan’s tenure as a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, were used at the private university campus.
The alleged use of these materials reportedly contributed to the construction of facilities including hostels, a hospital and a pandal. These claims form part of the allegations under investigation and have not been established as proven findings in court.
The agency is examining whether government contractors diverted money to the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust or the university through donations and construction-related transactions.
Donations From Institutions in Meerut Under Scrutiny
The investigation also reportedly covers donations of around ₹6 crore made to the trust by two institutions in Meerut associated with Dr Sarojini Agarwal, a former Samajwadi Party MLC who later joined the BJP.
The agency is examining the source of the donations and the route through which the money reached the trust. Separately, a CBI investigation involving Agarwal’s medical college has also been reported. The nature and status of that investigation should be distinguished from the ED’s probe into the Jauhar Trust.
Investigation Follows Raids at 10 Locations
On August 19, the ED conducted searches at 10 locations linked to Khan, the trust and the university across Rampur, Saharanpur and Delhi.
The money laundering investigation stems from 27 FIRs registered in Rampur involving allegations including cheating, forgery, extortion and criminal conspiracy. The agency is examining claims that the university and trust illegally acquired land belonging to farmers and enemy property, as well as tracing the alleged proceeds of crime.
The ED has also questioned people connected with the trust and the university, including a chartered accountant, university officials, a contractor and Samajwadi Party MLA Naseer Ahmed Khan, who previously served as the trust’s joint secretary.
Azam Khan Remains in Jail
Mohammad Ali Jauhar University was founded by Azam Khan in Rampur in 2006. The former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister and MP has faced several criminal cases and has been convicted in some of them.
