Lucknow, 23 September (IANS) Rashtra Shosit Samaj Party founder Swami Prasad Maurya on Tuesday reacted to the release of Senior Samaj Party (SP) leader and former Uttar Pradesh Minister Mohammad Azam Khan, who moved out of Sitapur jail after about 23 months.
Speaking to IANS, Swami Prasad Maurya said, “The Samajwadi Party was never standing by him. It is unfortunate and deeply sad that the party for which Azam Khan hurts a lot, he did not support him in the hour of his needs.”
He added, “There is no doubt that the BJP kept him imprisoned for a long time with malicious intentions, a long -term allegations like goat theft and chicken theft. Despite his long -lasting political career, he was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly almost ten times, and both served in Lok Sabha and State Assembly.
Reacting to speculation about Khan’s next political move, Maurya said, “Instead of speculating, we should wait to hear ourselves from Azam Khan. He has just released, and political rumors have already started. He has a long and impressive career and will take his decision after appropriate consideration.”
Meanwhile, Azam Khan’s release from Sitapur jail was delayed by a few hours. He was to be released at 8.00 am; However, he forgot to pay a fine of Rs 8,000 in two cases.
His lawyer, Sadanam Singh, paid the fine in the court, after which the verification was done. Subsequently, he was released.
Talking to reporters, the House had said, “The fine imposed on Azam Khan has now been approved. I received the fine and met the jailer.”
In view of his release, prohibitive orders have been implemented under Section 144 in Sitapur city.
The police announced through loudspeakers, warning people against gathering near the jail premises.
Despite the sanctions, the number of SP workers, leaders and supporters waiting outside the jail increased the hour. The authorities dispersed the crowd, and several vehicles in the area were fined.
Earlier, Sitapur Circle official Vinayak Bhosle while talking to reporters said, “Everyone knows that the roads in the city are narrow and due to Navratri, there is a lot of crowd on the roads. No one is allowed to stand without any reason. Section is in force 144 force, under which we are taking action. The crowd is being removed from the roads.”
Preparations were also made by SP District President Chhatrapal Singh Yadav to welcome Azam Khan.
Speaking to IANS, he said, “We have come to welcome him. He is our leader. His arrival will strengthen the party even more.”
Samajwadi Party MLA Anil Kumar Verma, who arrived in Sitapur to welcome the senior leader, said, “After a long time, legal proceedings have ended. We thank the court for this.”
Azam Khan was granted bail in the Quality Bar Land Grab case by the Allahabad High Court on 18 September. In this case, Cedar was registered at the Civil Lines Police Station in Rampur, after which Khan transferred the High Court demanding bail.
On 10 September, the Allahabad High Court also granted him bail in another case related to the alleged forcibly eviction of residents of Dungarpur Colony in Rampur.
Earlier, Khan was acquitted by a special MP-MLA court in the 17-year-old case including allegations of road blockade and damage to public property.
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JK/Red