Azam Khan released: Samajwadi leader and former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Mohammad Azam Khan was released from Sitapur jail on Tuesday after having spent nearly 23 months behind the bars. He had been granted bail in all cases filed against him. His release, scheduled for the early morning, was pushed back because of court procedures.

His elder son, Adeeb, and several SP leaders, including national secretary and former MLA Anup Gupta, MLA Shivpal Singh Yadav and district president Chatrapati Yadav, were also present outside the jail to welcome Khan.

The six-time Jaswantnagar MLA, Yadav, said that Khan was “framed” by the government in false cases. “Azam Khan was framed by the government in false cases. However, the court has granted him bail and has provided relief to him in cases. I welcome this decision. I welcome the Supreme Court and the High Court. Many false cases were filed against him. The Samajwadi Party stands beside him.”

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“Azam Khan is the hero of the day. I am here with all his supporters to welcome him. I have nothing more to say. Whatever has to be said, my father will say after coming out of jail,” his elder son, Adeeb, told reporters outside the jail.

Azam Khan released: Video goes viral

Videos of Azam Khan leaving Sitapur jail in his car have gone viral on social media, with reporters seen running alongside carrying cameras and mic IDs. The video also captures police personnel clearing the way for his vehicle to exit the jail premises.

The district administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in Sitapur to prevent any untoward incident, but a large number of supporters managed to reach near the jail with their vehicles, causing traffic congestion.

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“There was chaos and rush despite Section 163 being in force. Vehicles were not allowed to come close to the jail, but they somehow managed to reach there. Action had to be taken to avoid further complications,” City Circle Officer Vinayak Bhosle said.

Land encroachment case

The politician was jailed in connection with the Quality Bar land encroachment case, and his advocate, Mohammad Khalid, has explained the Quality Bar land case.

“This matter was related to a society that owned a building called Quality Bar and owned some land. The allegation was that when Khan Sahab was a Cabinet Minister in 2013, he misused his power and, through his influence on society, allotted this land on lease to a family member.”

He further added, “While the facts were otherwise, the society was independent, had issued a tender, and the highest bidder was his family member, his wife, so she was allotted. This is a 2013 matter. An FIR was filed in 2019, and a further investigation was conducted in 2024, in which Khan Sahab was named as an accused. We presented all these facts to the court…so bail was finally granted in this one as well today.”

Khalid said that nearly one dozen FIRs were lodged against Azam and others in the year 2016 Dungarpur incident, in which houses were demolished for the implementation of the Asara scheme during the SP government. “One of the cases was lodged by Shafeeq Bano in 2019, in which she claimed that she constructed a house on the land purchased in 2012,” he further said.