Lucknow: Senior Samajwadi Party member and former MP Azam Khan was remanded to 14 days judicial custody by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad on Sunday. He will be lodged at Dasna district jail in Ghaziabad instead of Rampur jail, from where he had been released a day earlier.The Enforcement Directorate produced Azam Khan before Special Judge Anti-Corruption CBI court, Avanish Kumar Pandey, around 10.30am amid tight security. A convoy of five ED vehicles brought him to the court premises, accompanied by more than 100 personnel from the CRPF and the Uttar Pradesh Police.Khan appeared calm when he arrived at the court. As he rolled down the window, journalists asked whether he wanted to say something. He responded, “Ab kya reh gaya hai bolne ko” (What is left to say now?).The court gave the order after hearing the matter for about 90 minutes. ED counsel Kuldeep Srivastava argued on behalf of the agency while ED’s deputy director Piyush Thorat and assistant director Praveen Kumar remained present inside the court.ED had arrested the SP veteran on Saturday evening in connection with a money laundering case registered by the agency in 2019. He was taken into custody after being released from Rampur jail and was taken to the ED headquarters in Delhi for questioning.Thereafter, Azam complained of chest and stomach ache, following which a team of CRPF and ED took him to RML hospital in Delhi for a medical checkup. After clearance from a specialist team of doctors, he was brought to ED HQ and questioned again.According to officials, Azam was questioned at length in connection with the alleged misuse of govt funds in the construction of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur. During the interrogation, the agency reportedly put more than 50 questions to him.Azam and his son Abdullah Azam had walked out of Rampur jail around 7.15pm on Saturday after spending nearly 11 months in custody. His release came after the Allahabad high court on Oct 29 suspended his 10-year sentence in the two PAN card cases.However, his release proved short-lived as the ED arrested him in the money laundering case.The developments triggered sharp political reactions. Uttar Pradesh energy Minister AK Sharma said the law applies equally to everyone, irrespective of their position or identity. He said that people sometimes disregard the law when they become consumed by the arrogance of power, but eventually everyone has to face its consequences.Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party national general secretary Shivpal Yadav alleged that the ED acted at govt’s behest to arrest Azam Khan and asked people to speak out against oppressive govts.BJP members, on the other hand, defended the ED action, saying that the law was equal for everyone. Bihar BJP president Sanjay Saraogi said the case should not be linked to any particular community and accused Azam Khan of portraying himself as a victim.
