Lucknow: After three days of income tax raids at the residence of Samajwadi Party leader Mohd Azam Khan, where I-T officials reportedly detected tax evasion of Rs 800 crore along with some other irregularities, the former minister’s close aides have denied reports of such evasion.
Asim Raza, a local Samajwadi Party leader from Rampur who had unsuccessfully contested the June 2022 Lok Sabha bypoll, said, “I don’t know from where these tax evasion reports have emerged. Has anybody got any specific input on these reports? There is nothing like that and yet a media trial has begun.”
UP Samajwadi Party chief Naresh Uttam Patel, too, said reports of Azam Khan being involved in tax evasion were all fake.
“Such brazen attempts to showcase Azam Khan in poor light will backfire on the BJP, which is clearly rattled,” he said.
However, the income tax authorities, it is learnt, have noted that the Maulana Jauhar Ali Trust donated equipment of Rs 7.42 crore to Glocal University of Saharanpur, owned by Haji Iqbal, former BSP lawmaker.
The income-tax authorities have not released any official details of the search exercise that was carried out at around 30 premises of Khan and his associates in various locations in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, primarily to probe the source of funding of Jauhar University.
The university was set up in 2006 and Azam is the life-time Chancellor.
“We found I-T people all over the place in no time. They searched everything they could and asked questions,” Azam Khan said about the search.
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