The state cabinet decided on Friday to transfer ownership of the Rampur Public School, which is administered by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's trust, SP leader's office, and another location where party activities used to take place to the Secondary Education Department, an official said today.
In the midst of a large police presence, including Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sansar Singh and Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Lalta Prasad Shakya, locks were placed on the two buildings. According to the senior official, both properties were sealed and turned over to the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS).
The Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar Trust in Rampur, which is home to Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan, was served with a notice to vacate the premises by the DIOS on November 2. Earlier on October 31, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet had authorised a plan to reclaim ownership of more than 41,000 square feet of land that had been leased to the Muhammad Ali Jauhar Trust. The site was to be moved to the state government's Secondary Education Department. A government statement claims that following a panel's investigation on purported lease deed irregularities, the land's ownership has been withdrawn.
Cabinet decision and the reactions
According to a source, the administration seized both of these structures and gave them to the DIOS. Asim Raja, the president of the SP's Rampur city unit, protested the action, claiming that his office is not connected to the school's property. However, the local government insisted that the SP office was a part of the land. ADM (Administration) Shakya said that the education department has taken custody of the property and has cancelled the previous 30-year lease. Shakya stated that the SP office and the school are located within the 41,181 square foot area of the land, as per the tehsil and municipality administrations.
"We have the measurements of the joint team in which all this is mentioned clearly," he stated. According to the ASP, locks have been placed on both properties. Asim Raja, the leader of the SP, stated that there was no opposition when the Rampur Public School building was evacuated following a government directive. Raja also stated that the SP office was rented and was not a part of the property, and that it was also occupied against their will.
"No one is ready to listen to us. This is oppression. What can we do?" he said. The DIOS had ordered that the building be evacuated within seven days, citing the cabinet decision. In an official statement, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet on October 31 approved the transfer of ownership of more than 41,000 square feet of land leased to the Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar Trust in Rampur, which is run by imprisoned SP leader Azam Khan, to the state government's secondary education department. In February 2007, the government leased 41,181 square feet of land to the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust. On the leased land, the Muhammad Ali Jauhar University was founded under the auspices of the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, with Khan serving as its chancellor.
The university was inaugurated by the then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on September 18, 2012.In light of a report from a four-member investigative committee established to look into the "violation of the terms of the lease deed related to the land/building given to Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar Trust," the UP government said in a statement that ownership of the land has been withdrawn. Azam Khan, his wife Tanzin Fatima, and their son Abdullah Azam are incarcerated at the moment following their conviction in the case involving the forged birth certificate by a Rampur court.
(With inputs from PTI)
