Rampur court sentences Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan to 7 years in prison in 2016 house demolition case

Rampur, March 18

A court here on Monday sentenced Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan to seven years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 8 lakh on him over the forced demolition of a house in Dungarpur in 2016.

The MP-MLA court also sentenced three others to five years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 2.5 lakh on each of them in the case, senior prosecution officer Amarnath Tiwari said.

The court of Judge Vijay Kumar convicted Azam Khan, a former Uttar Pradesh minister, Azhar Ahmed Khan, a former chairperson of the municipal corporation, Ale Hasan, a former police circle officer, and Barkat Ali, according to Tiwari.

Three other accused — Jibran, Farman and Omendra Chauhan — in the case were acquitted by the court, the officer said. Seven people, including Azam Khan, were booked in 2019 for the forced demolition of the house in 2016 when the SP was in power in Uttar Pradesh.

The case was registered at the Ganj police station in Rampur. They were booked under Sections 447 (punishment for criminal trespass), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 395 (punishment for dacoity), 412 (dishonestly receiving property stolen in the commission of a dacoity) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the IPC, Tiwari said.

The case was filed against them after change of government in the state. Azam Khan (75) is currently serving a sentence in the Sitapur jail in another criminal case.