In a series of coordinated actions, the Income Tax department conducted raids on multiple premises linked to prominent Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan. These sweeping raids unfolded across various locations, including Lucknow, Rampur, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur, and Sitapur. The focus of these investigations revolves around the Al Jauhar Trust, a significant entity associated with Azam Khan.
Reports indicate that at least 30 premises were searched by Income Tax officials in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The tax evasion probe against Azam Khan appears to be the driving force behind these large-scale operations.
The Regency Public School and Regency Institute of Management & Technology in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, were among the institutions targeted during this agency’s action against Azam Khan. Additionally, Advocate Mushtaq Ahmed Siddiqui’s residence in Lucknow came under the IT department’s scrutiny in connection with the same case.
The raids have sparked intense reactions from various quarters, with some questioning the timing and nature of these investigations. Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav expressed his concerns, stating that such actions seemed driven by desperation. He emphasized that Azam Khan has faced a barrage of false cases at the behest of the Uttar Pradesh government. Moreover, he questioned the necessity of conducting such actions at the residence of a figure he characterized as honest.
Azam Khan, the former Cabinet minister and the head of the Al Jauhar Trust, has been a prominent political figure in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier this year, the Uttar Pradesh government canceled a lease for a 3.24-acre plot in Rampur that was allocated to the Trust for establishing a research institute. The lease, signed in 2013-14 for a nominal ₹100 per year for over 30 years, was annulled amid allegations of irregularities. Despite the lease, the research institute had not been developed.
The unfolding investigation into Azam Khan’s financial affairs and the Al Jauhar Trust has captured public attention, raising questions about the motivations and implications of these actions in the political landscape of Uttar Pradesh.
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