Ghaziabad, Nov. 1 -- Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was on Sunday remanded to 14 days of judicial custody by a special court in Ghaziabad in a money laundering case linked to the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and Jauhar University.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which arrested Khan on Saturday shortly after his release from Rampur jail, had sought his custody for questioning over alleged financial irregularities and money laundering involving the trust and the university.
A team of ED officials produced him before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court amid tight security. The court, however, ordered that he be sent to jail in judicial custody. Khan's arrest came moments after he walked out of Rampur district jail following his release in a case related to possession of two PAN cards. His son Abdullah Azam, who was also granted bail in the case, was released from prison.
The ED is investigating alleged financial irregularities and transactions linked to the trust and the university. Khan's appearance before the court drew a gathering of supporters and local residents, prompting heavy police deployment to maintain law and order.
On his arrest, Khan alleged that the rule of law had ceased to exist. "Is this the punishment for being a Muslim? Our mistake was that a Muslim established a university. We built schools for children. Is that our crime?" he said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.