Ex-minister Azam Khan accused of spending Rs 450 crore black money in Jauhar University construction: IT submits report to ED

The IT Department conducted raids at 40 properties of Azam Khan and his family members in September. It had also interrogated people who were known to have given donations to the trust. However, it was found that none of these people made any donations and instead crores were donated by firms located in Delhi, Noida, Lucknow and other places.

Lucknow:Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former minister Azam Khan has been accused of spending around Rs 450 crore black money in setting up buildings in Jauhar University. The revelations has been made in a report submitted to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) by the Income Tax Department.

The investigation by the Income Tax Department has revealed that a total of Rs 494 crore was spent in the construction work, whereas Jauhar Trust said that construction cost was only Rs 46 crore. In such a situation, it is suspected that black money worth Rs 448 crore was invested in the construction of the buildings in the university.

The Income Tax Department got this information during raids that were conducted on the properties of people close to Khan in September. Also, the CPWD had evaluated the construction work from the recovered documents in October.

On the basis of a complaint lodged by Rampur city MLA Akash Saxena, the Income Tax Department conducted an investigation wherein several irregularities in connection with the money spent on the construction work of the university surfaced. Sources said income tax was being evaded by showing less expenditure. Also, information about the source of money has not been clear, sources added. An investigation report in this regard was prepared by the Income Tax Department.

In September, the Income Tax Department had raided 40 locations of Khan and his family. During the raids, the agency had also interrogated all those whose names were included in the list of people who supposedly made donations to the Jauhar Trust. However, all of them denied making any kind of donation to the trust.

On the basis of the documents recovered during the raids, it has come to light that many companies and firms of Lucknow, Delhi, Moradabad, Noida and Bahraich had donated crores of rupees to the Jauhar Trust. Sources said investigations further revealed that Khan allegedly misused his power for his personal interests.

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