Enforcement Action Under PMLA

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached the land and buildings of the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). While originally valued at Rs 426.46 crore, the current market value of the attached assets is estimated at Rs 1,170 crore.

The high-profile money laundering investigation targets the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, former Uttar Pradesh minister Mohammad Azam Khan, and several associated entities. The federal agency's probe centers on allegations of illegal land acquisition, the diversion of government funds, and the misuse of public resources for the establishment and expansion of the private university campus located in Jauhar Nagar, Singhankhera village.

Origins of the Investigation

According to federal investigators, the case stems from 26 separate First Information Reports (FIRs) registered at the Azeem Nagar police station in Rampur. These initial complaints alleged that agricultural land belonging to local farmers was forcibly and illegally acquired for the university project.

Further compounding the legal troubles for the trust, an inquiry by the Rampur district administration revealed that 45 plots of classified 'enemy property'—assets left behind by individuals who migrated to Pakistan—measuring roughly 34 acres in Singhankhera village, were unlawfully occupied for the university despite the cancellation of the trust's lease. These parcels have since been reclaimed by the Custodian of Enemy Property under the Ministry of Home Affairs through local administrative channels.

Allegations of Fund Diversion and Demolitions

The ED's investigation has brought to light intricate webs of financial irregularities, including the alleged diversion of public works allocations toward the private campus. Investigators claim that government-funded infrastructure projects were executed directly on university grounds, and money disbursed to contractors for public projects was systematically routed back to the trust under the guise of donations.

Statements from contractors operating in Rampur corroborated these findings. The managing director of a firm holding Public Works Department (PWD) contracts worth approximately Rs 186 crore informed investigators that a significant portion—between 30 to 40 percent—of the contract value was funneled into purchasing construction materials for the university.

Additional chargesheets filed by Rampur Police detail violent incidents allegedly orchestrated by Azam Khan and his associates. In 2016, a mob reportedly led by a local Circle Officer demolished homes belonging to tenants of Waqf properties in Rampur city. Occupants were allegedly assaulted, threatened, and robbed, with the resulting debris subsequently transported to construct the university campus. Furthermore, municipal cleaning machinery procured for the Rampur Nagar Palika was reportedly diverted for use on university premises.

With multiple FIRs now under intense judicial and investigative scrutiny, the latest attachment marks a major escalation in the ongoing legal battles surrounding the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and its leadership.