I-T raid continues at Azam Khan's residence for second day

The Income Tax Department's raid at Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's Rampur residence in Uttar Pradesh continued for the second day on Thursday.

The process started on Wednesday when the I-T Department conducted raids at more than 30 locations in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh as part of its investigation into the tax evasion allegations levelled against Khan and his associates.

Dhruv Kumar, Additional I-T Director (Investigation), who arrived in Rampur for the raid, has confirmed that search action was continuing at Azam Khan's residence. However, he declined to provide details regarding the duration of the investigation or any findings thus far, saying, "The investigation is in progress, and we cannot provide any further information at this point of time."

Khan, a former Cabinet minister in Uttar Pradesh, serves as the head of the Al Jauhar Trust.

Earlier this year, the Uttar Pradesh government had revoked a lease for a 3.24-acre plot in Rampur that had been granted to the Trust for the purpose of establishing a research institute.

This lease, originally signed in the fiscal year 2013-14, had a nominal annual fee of Rs 100 and was intended to last for over three decades. The government took this action following allegations of irregularities, and despite the long-standing lease, the research institute was never constructed.