As per a state cabinet decision, the possession of Rampur Public School, managed by a trust led by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, along with an office and a space for party activities, was transferred to the Secondary Education Department on Friday. Locks were placed on both buildings in the presence of law enforcement, including the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Lalta Prasad Shakya and Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sansar Singh.
The District Inspector of Schools (DIOS) received possession of both properties and sealed them. The Uttar Pradesh cabinet, on October 31, withdrew ownership of over 41,000 square feet of leased land from the Muhammad Ali Jauhar Trust and ordered its transfer to the Secondary Education Department. This decision followed a report on alleged lease deed violations. The old Murtaza School building, once the office of DIOS, allotted to Muhammad Ali Jauhar Trust during Khan’s tenure as a minister, housed Rampur Public School.
The administration took control of both structures and handed them over to the DIOS. While SP’s Rampur city unit president, Asim Raja, protested, claiming the SP office was separate, the local administration considered it part of the property. The 30-year lease was canceled, and the education department took possession. The DIOS’s notice instructed vacating the building within seven days, following the cabinet’s decision to withdraw ownership of the leased land.
The Muhammad Ali Jauhar Trust, under Khan’s leadership, established the Muhammad Ali Jauhar University on the leased land. Azam Khan, along with his wife Tanzin Fatima and son Abdullah Azam, is in jail after being convicted in a Rampur court in the fake birth certificate case.
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