CBI may launch inquiry against Azam by June 20

The Samajwadi Party’s Muslim face and the selfstyled messiah of the minority community, Azam Khan, is in serious trouble. Barely two months after the SP suffered a humiliating defeat in the state Assembly polls, tough days are ahead for former SP minister. With the CBI preparing to start its enquiry to probe the alleged irregularities worth multi-crores in the functioning of Shia and Sunni waqf boards in Uttar Pradesh, the role of Azam Khan, who was minister for waqf in the previous SP government, is now under the scanner.

“The CBI is expected to start its probe by Tuesday. The agency is just waiting for a formal notification to investigate the case by the department of personnel and training (DoPT), the nodal body governing the country’s premier investigating agency,” sources in the CBI said. It is believed that UP government’s recommendation has reached the DoPT. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday recommended a probe by the CBI into the alleged irregularities in the functioning of both waqf boards in the state.

There are allegations that Mr Khan made a trust — Maulana Johar Ali Education Trust — and diverted funds from waqf properties to it, sources said. The scam worth crores has come to the fore in a probe by the Waqf Council of India (WCI). “The role of the chairman of the Shia Waqf Board, Wasim Rizvi and Azam Khan had come under scanner after the inquiry by the WCI. It is also alleged that Mr Khan as minister allegedly misused his position to grab properties under the boards,” they said.