In what could turn out to be a huge blow for the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its senior leader, Azam Khan, it has been reported that the district administration of Rampur, is considering putting the name of the SP leader under the “land mafia” category on UP government’s “anti-bhoo mafia” (anti-land mafia) portal.
The portal was set up by Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath shortly after he came to power in 2017. The portal was set up in order to identify land mafia and file complaints of land-grabbing. As per the police, Khan faces a total of 30 cases, mostly relating to grabbing of government or farmer land. Rampur Superintendent of Police, Ajay Pal Sharma (an IPS officer of the UP Police) said that Azam Khan’s name would be recommended to be listed on the portal due to his alleged involvement in land-grabbing cases. Sharma told IANS, “The District Magistrate and myself would be reviewing reports of various police stations in the district which relate to land grabbed by Azam Khan or his aides. Subsequently, his name would be recommended to be listed on the land mafia portal of the government.”
It is important to mention here that a case was registered against the Samajwadi Party leader on the basis of an FIR lodged by the Revenue Department in Rampur. The case alleged that Khan and his close aide, retired police officer, Aalehasan Khan, grabbed land from 26 farmers and used it in the construction of Mohammed Ali Jauhar University, a big multi-crore project of Azam Khan. Now, the 26 farmers, who were allegedly tortured into signing the forged sale deeds, would file separate FIRs in the case.
The complaint alleges that Khan had misused his position as a politician (as a cabinet minister between 2012-17) in grabbing the land of the poor and also illegally encroached upon another chunk of land measuring 5000 hectares. According to a Revenue Officer, “This land comes under the riverside (of Kosi river) and cannot be acquired. However, revenue records were forged and subsequently this land, worth over several hundred crores, was illegally occupied by Jauhar Ali University.” The officer also stated that the fake documents aimed at fraudulently occupying the riverbed constituted strong evidence against Azam Khan. Police sources say that several other complaints relating to land grabbing by the Samajwadi leader have been received at the Office of Superintendent of Police.
