New Delhi, 28 October (H.S.): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached land and buildings worth Rs. 426.46 crore belonging to the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, in connection with a money laundering case linked to former state cabinet minister Mohammad Azam Khan. The current market value of the attached properties has been estimated at approximately Rs. 1,170 crore. The action was taken by the ED’s Lucknow Zonal Office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

According to the ED, the university campus is located in Jauhar Nagar in Singhankhera village, Rampur, and operates under the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust. The trust was established by Azam Khan, who also serves as the university’s honorary chancellor. The agency took the action based on its investigation into a case registered against the trust, Azam Khan and others.

The ED stated that the investigation was initiated on the basis of 26 first information reports (FIRs) registered at the Azim Nagar police station in Rampur. The complaints alleged that agricultural land belonging to farmers had been forcibly acquired and used for the university. According to an inquiry report submitted by the Rampur district administration, the university had also allegedly encroached upon 45 plots of enemy property, covering approximately 34 acres, in Singhankhera village. The agency said that after the cancellation of the lease, the Custodian of Enemy Property under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, through the district administration, had taken back possession of the land.

During the investigation, the ED found that funds allocated for government works had allegedly been diverted towards the construction of the university. Contractors awarded government projects were also accused of returning money to the trust in the form of donations.

According to the agency, the managing director of one company stated that 30 to 40 per cent of the funds from Public Works Department (PWD) contracts worth approximately Rs. 186 crore had been used to purchase materials for the university’s construction. Partners of another firm reportedly admitted to working under Azam Khan’s influence and donating Rs. 40 lakh to the trust.

The ED further stated that development works worth Rs. 6.60 crore had been carried out on the university campus using funds from the Local Area Development schemes of Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs).

In addition, the Uttar Pradesh government had sanctioned Rs. 23.41 crore for constructing a pavilion, a hostel for students from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and a hospital block on the campus. The agency said that the Rs. 12.16 crore sanctioned in 2015 for the pavilion was subject to the condition that ownership would remain with the state’s Department of Culture and that the state government would be allowed to use the facility free of charge. However, an order was amended in 2016, transferring ownership of the pavilion to the university and removing the condition permitting its free use by the state government.

Citing an assessment of the university campus, the ED said the construction cost of 59 buildings had been estimated at Rs. 494.46 crore, while the land was valued at Rs. 4.63 crore. The total estimated cost of the campus was therefore Rs. 499.09 crore.

The trust had reported capital expenditure of Rs. 78.32 crore in its income tax returns. Of this amount, donations worth Rs. 12.29 crore were found to be non-genuine, according to the agency. The ED said it could establish the source of only Rs. 72.63 crore in expenditure from legitimate sources, leaving the source of the remaining Rs. 426.46 crore unverified. The agency has treated this amount as proceeds of crime and provisionally attached the corresponding properties.

The ED also stated that the Income Tax Department had cancelled the trust’s registration under the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

On August 19, 2026, the agency conducted searches at the university and its associated premises, seizing electronic devices and incriminating records. Further investigation into the case is underway.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar