Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan speaks to the media after walking out of Rampur District Jail on Saturday. (IANS)
Meerut/Lucknow: In a dramatic development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former MP Azam Khan outside Rampur district jail on Saturday evening, moments after he walked out following nearly 11 months in custody. Sources in the agency said he had been arrested in connection with a 2019 Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Khan has faced over 110 police cases since 2017. His first major jail sentence was around Feb 2020 after he surrendered in forgery and other cases, until the Supreme Court granted interim bail on May 19, 2022. In Oct 2023, he was convicted in a birth certificate forgery case and sent back to prison. He was released from Sitapur jail on Sept 23, 2025, after securing bail in the remaining cases. Less than two months later, on Nov 17, 2025, he was convicted again — this time in the PAN card case.
His son, Abdullah Azam, was released and went home. He is likely to be later produced before a court in Ghaziabad, sources added.
Around 24 CRPF personnel were also deployed outside the prison as the agency prepared to take him into custody. The court passed the order on Oct 29, but declined to stay their convictions. The ED team had reached Rampur jail before Khan’s release. Khan and Abdullah had walked out of prison after the Allahabad high court (HC) granted them bail and suspended their sentences in the dual PAN card case. Consequently, their disqualification from contesting elections remains in force.