Rampur Court Breathes New Life Into Long-Held Allegations
The legal rollercoaster for Azam Khan, the veteran Samajwadi Party politician, just took another sharp turn. This time, a Rampur court has called for a full-fledged reinvestigation into a case that was collecting dust for almost two decades. This 18-year-old case traces its roots back to 2007, when a local trader, Afsar Khan, said he was extorted for cash and bullied off his land by none other than Azam Khan, supposedly to help build the now-contentious Mohammad Ali Jauhar University.
Back in 2007, Afsar Khan claimed Azam demanded a hefty 'donation' of ₹5 lakh. When the trader balked, authorities allegedly bulldozed his papad factory, ignoring his pleas—even as he waved his land ownership documents. Imagine your entire livelihood knocked down, all because you refused to pay up. The allegations were serious, but after a probe, police shelved the case for 'lack of evidence.' Case closed—or so it seemed.
The story didn't end there. Years passed, but anger lingered, especially in the Khan family. Come January 2025, the case burst back into headlines thanks to Afsar’s son, Zulfekar Khan. He wasn’t satisfied with the original investigation, arguing the police missed key evidence and never truly tried to pin down what happened. Fuelled by this protest, the Rampur MP/MLA court ordered a new look at the case, instructing a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to start from scratch.
Political Fights, Stacked Cases, and Lingering Accusations
This isn’t just another legal blip for Azam Khan. Since 2017, the former minister is already swamped by a staggering 83 cases—ranging from land grab and cheating to criminal trespass. The weight of legal action against him feels almost relentless. Not only that, but the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also jumped in, connecting alleged illegal land grabs to possible money laundering, with university land acquisitions repeatedly coming under the scanner.
Stories abound of how properties for Mohammad Ali Jauhar University were secured: people talk of pressure, intimidation, and hinted threats as methods used to acquire land. The new investigation revives painful questions—did the authorities overlook evidence, or was justice derailed by influence and politics?
- The court's recent order puts the spotlight back on every angle of the 2007 incident: from the alleged cash demand to the demolition of the factory.
- The SIT now faces a tough job—sorting through aged evidence, faded memories, and a backdrop of deep political drama.
- Extortion and land grab are now at the center of both civic outrage and party rivalry.
Not surprisingly, political circles are buzzing. Opposition leaders say it's more proof that BJP-led state governments are singling out Khan for prosecution; Khan himself claims it’s all a witch-hunt. But with a reopened investigation, the facts of what really happened in 2007—and whether Azam Khan was the mastermind behind a campaign of threats—will now be put to the test again, almost 20 years later. Few cases show just how tangled law and politics remain in Rampur.