ED QUIZZES AZAM IN JAIL, MUKHTAR LIKELY TO BE NEXT

LUCKNOW : Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Monday questioned senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mohd Azam Khan, who is currently lodged in Sitapur Jail for cases ranging from theft to extortion.

ED officials are also likely to question gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who is lodged in Banda jail after being brought to Uttar Pradesh from Punjab.

Confirming the questioning of Khan, jail superintendent (Sitapur jail) Suresh Kumar Singh said, “Two officials of Enforcement Directorate reached the jail in the afternoon. They had court orders for questioning Azam Khan. The officials were allowed to question Azam Khan in person in a separate room. We don’t have any information regarding what Enforcement Directorate officials asked Khan.”

Azam Khan, according to people familiar with the issue, was questioned regarding alleged cases of money laundering.

The Enforcement Directorate has not shared any further information regarding the questioning of Khan or Ansari.

Azam Khan, 73, has been lodged in Sitapur jail since last year.

His condition deteriorated after contracting Covid-19 in May leading to him being admitted for over a month in a private hospital in Lucknow. He recently returned to Sitapur jail from hospital.

According to people familiar with the issue, Azam Khan’s wife and sitting Rampur MLA Tazeen Fatma visited him in jail earlier on Monday before the ED team arrived.