The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh has said that Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s role in the sale of property belonging to Waqf Board was being thoroughly probed.
"Prima facie, senior minister in the previous SP government Azam Khan appears to have committed irregularities in the sale of property belonging to the Waqf Board,” Uttar Pradesh minister Siddharth Nath Singh told reporters here today.
The government’s reaction comes days after India TV reported accusations of fraud levelled against the former UP minister under the erstwhile Samajwadi Party government.
Azam Khan has been accused of having illegally acquired property worth Rs 500 crore of the Waqf board in his home constituency of Rampur.
Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad and Congress leader Faisal Lala from Rampur have alleged that Azam, who was in charge of the Minority Affairs ministry in the SP government, had sold property of the Waqf board at cheap rates.
In his complaint, Faisal has said that Azam had unlawfully transferred the ownership of 3.5 acre of Waqf board property at Yusuf Garden to his close friend Shahzeb Khan and his wife.
“It seems he had facilitated sale of Waqf land to different people at throwaway prices," Siddharth Nath Singh said today.
"He could not have done so without getting something in return. The matter is being investigated thoroughly and justice will be done," he added.
Faisal further said that the leader then sold the same property after making his son a secret partner and made crores.
Prominent Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad had also accused Khan of selling Waqf property illegally.
Kalbe said that Azam overlooked rules in the appointment of the Chairman of the board besides acquiring a huge portion of the Waqf board’s land to construct a private school and set up a stable.
“The police action here was done at the behest of Azam Khan. He misused his position to acquire Waqf board property,” the cleric said.
The SP leader, however, had denied the charges and called them "politically motivated".
