Azam shifted back to Sitapur district jail

LUCKNOW: Rampur MP and former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Azam Khan was shifted back to the Sitapur district jail on Friday after the state government asked the authorities to conduct his court hearing through video conference, a senior officer of the UP Prison Administration and Reform Services said.

He was earlier shifted to the Bareilly district jail from the Sitapur district jail on Thursday due to his daily appearances scheduled at the Rampur district court on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The senior official of the UP Prison Administration and Reform Services said the order regarding the former minister’s appearance through video conference was issued late on Thursday night after which it was decided to shift him back to Sitapur district jail on Friday.

He said Khan, along with his wife Tazeen Fatima, an MLA from Rampur, and son Abdullah Azam will now remain lodged at the Sitapur district jail.

The former minister, his wife and son were shifted to Sitapur district jail from Rampur district jail on administrative grounds on February 27 after the Rampur administration officials apprehended trouble over Khan’s stay in the district.

On March 3, the Sitapur jail authorities recommended shifting Azam Khan to a jail closer to Rampur due to frequent appearances in Rampur district court as it took over 11 hours to take and bring him back from Rampur. The official said Khan remained lodged at Bareilly jail for over 24 hours before he was shifted back to the Sitapur district jail.

The former minister is in jail since February 26 when a Rampur court rejected his bail application in a case related to alleged forgery in age-proof documents of Abdullah Azam.