Days after getting a seven-year jail sentence in a fake birth certificate case, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan expressed his apprehension about getting killed in an encounter. While being shifted from Rampur jail to Sitapur jail on Sunday (22nd October), Azam Khan said “Hamara bhi encounter ho sakta hai (My ‘encounter’ can also happen). Kuch bhi ho sakta hai (Anything can happen).”
"Encounter can also happen"
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) October 22, 2023
– SP leader and once untouchable Azam Khan, accused of killing many innocent Jats in the 2013 riots.pic.twitter.com/p5epz0yXYh
At around 5 in the morning, the police began shifting Azam Khan, his wife Tazeen Fatma and son Abdullah Azam from Rampur Jail to different jails in the state amidst heavy police presence. They have been transferred on the directives of the government, according to Additional Superintendent of Police Sansar Singh.
Azam Khan has been transferred to Sitapur Jail in an early morning shift from Rampur Jail. Abdullah Azam, on the other hand, has been transferred from Rampur to Hardoi jail. He was taken to Hardoi jail at about 8:20 AM, and refused to talk to journalists. Azam Khan’s wife Tazeen Fatma will remain lodged in Rampur Jail. All three were kept in Rampur Jail.
#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: SP leader Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam Khan being taken from Rampur's jail.
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) October 22, 2023
SP leader Azam Khan, his wife Tazeen Fatima and his son Abdullah Azam Khan were sentenced in connection with fake birth certificate case pic.twitter.com/95RVOGQqpH
Notably, on 18th October 2023, Azam Khan, his son Abdullah Azam, and Azam Khan’s wife Tanzeem Fatima were sentenced to seven years in prison. The MP-MLA court in Rampur has found the three guilty of illegally acquiring a fake birth certificate for Abdullah Khan and awarded the sentence.
They were convicted under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), and 471 (using as genuine a forged [document or electronic record]) of the Indian Penal Code.
Abdullah Azam, who won the 2017 Lok Sabha elections from the Swar constituency, was charged with using a counterfeit birth certificate since he hadn’t reached the required age during the election. He was also convicted of possessing two birth certificates. In addition, Azam Khan has been convicted in two cases. In December 2022, he was sentenced to three years in jail by the court, after which he lost his assembly membership. Earlier this year, Akash Saxena won the Rampur by-election and became the first Hindu MLA from the Rampur assembly seat. Azam Khan, Abdullah Azam and Tanzeem Fatima have been sentenced to seven years each on the complaint of Akash Saxena.
