Being treated like a ‘terrorist’: Azam
BAREILLY: Samajwadi Party Member of Parliament from Rampur Mohd Azam Khan on Saturday alleged that he was being treated like a ‘terrorist’ inside the Sitapur Jail where he has been remanded to week-long judicial custody in a forgery case. Khan was produced before the special MP-MLA court in Rampur on Saturday.
“I am being treated like a terrorist,” said Khan to media persons waiting outside the Sitapur District Jail as he was escorted amidst tight security in a police van en-route to Rampur.
The police did not allow him to speak to the media persons. But as the police van passed by the media crew waiting outside the district jail, Khan peered out of the window and shouted that he was being treated like a terrorist.
The jail authorities, however, denied the charge. “We are providing him with all the necessary facilities commensurate with his status as a lawmaker. Only yesterday his daughter-in-law and some other family members had come to meet them,” said a jail official requesting anonymity.
A special MP-MLA court had issued summons to the senior SP leader, his wife and son to appear before him in the alleged fake birth certificate case of his son Abdullah Azam. A crowd of Samajwadi Party workers had gathered outside the special MP-MLA court including SP lawmaker from Moradabad ST Hasan and party’s Sambhal unit chief Firoz. The Rampur police had thrown a heavy security cauldron around the court premises.
“Azam had applied for bail in 69 cases registered against out of which he has been granted bail in three on Saturday,” said additional district government counsel Ram Autar Saini. He said the hearing in other cases would continue in March. “The court has fixed March 17 for next hearing in the case related to his (Azam’s) son possessing two passports and pan card and he would remain in jail till then,” said BJP leader Akash Saxena, who had moved the court in the fake birth certificate case of his son.