Azam Khan's son Abdullah detained as SP workers clash with police in UP's Rampur; Section 144 imposed in district

A day after Samajwadi Party MP Azam Khan’s son, Abdullah Azam, was detained from outside the Jauhar University in Rampur for fabricating documents to get his passport made, Abdullah was again detained on Thursday. Several other Samajwadi Party workers have also been detained after clashing with police in Rampur over ‘Jungle Raj’ in the city.

#NewsAlert – @samajwadiparty protest against Azam Khan’s son’s arrest. SP protest against ‘Jungle Raj’ in Rampur. Abdullah Azam Khan leads the protest against the government. | @pranshumisraa with more details pic.twitter.com/jDk0exncMz

— News18 (@CNNnews18) August 1, 2019

The district administration of Rampur on Thursday  had imposed Section 144 , which prohibits an assembly of more than five people as Samajwadi Party workers were expected to mass  in protest against the detention of Abdullah . Uttar Pradesh Police has also put traffic restrictions on all highways connecting other parts of Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi to Rampur to avoid chaos.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had asked all party workers to reach Rampur on Thursday, in a big show of strength to support Azam Khan and his son on their allegations that the Yogi government was targetting them through the raids.

Around 100 Samajwadi Party workers coming from Bijnaur and Sambhal stopped from entering Rampur, according to reports .

Abdullah was detained earlier on Wednesday for causing obstruction during police’s search operation at the university. He was later released on a personal bond.

Calling the Uttar Pradesh administration and police a ‘gundaraj’, Abdullah said: “I asked the police for a search warrant. They did not have any order. It is ‘gundaraj’ of the state administration and police. This university is our heritage, we cannot let it go, we will save it. They can arrest us if they want.”

Praveen Kumar, Inspector-General, Law and Order had told that Abdullah was arrested under section 151 (Knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it has been commanded to disperse) of the Indian Penal Code.

On Tuesday, police carried out a raid at Mohammad Ali Jauhar University and recovered more than 100 expensive books allegedly stolen from other institutes in Rampur. The search was conducted at Mumtaz Central Library of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, of which Azam Khan is the Chancellor.

Police claimed to have recovered more than 2,500 expensive books, stolen furniture, and manuscripts so far. According to police, an FIR was lodged at Thanaganj Police Station, claiming that several expensive books and manuscripts were stolen from Madrasa Aliya and other institutes in the city. Four people working at the library were taken to the police station for questioning.

With inputs from agencies