ED raids Trust, premises linked to SP leader Azam Khan

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted raids at the premises linked to the Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, associated with Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan, as part of a money laundering investigation, officials said.

ED teams reached locations in Rampur, Saharanpur and Delhi, where officials are examining documents, financial records and digital devices. The investigations are associated with a purported money laundering case involving the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and Mohammad Ali Jauhar University. The ED’s Lucknow zonal team is executing searches in accordance with Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A primary aspect of the inquiry is the flow of funds related to government contracts. It is believed that certain funds allocated for government projects may have been diverted through private contractors and later utilised for purposes linked to the Trust or university.

SP president Akhilesh Yadav alleged the raids were aimed to satisfy a handful of communal, narrow-minded individuals. In a post on X, he said: “The BJP is against education, teachers and students and is getting schools closed, and its allies are conducting ED raids against builders of universities to satisfy their remaining 1-2 per cent supporters with communal narrow thinking and fallacious logic, while no action is taken against those corrupt people who are involved in the theft of Ram Temple and other corruption episodes.”