LUCKNOW: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday secured four days’ custody of senior Samajwadi Party leader and former MP Azam Khan from a special CBI court in Ghaziabad in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to the construction of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur.The court granted the ED custody from 4.30pm on November 12 until November 16 to facilitate further interrogation and investigation into alleged financial irregularities and the money trail associated with the university project.Khan was arrested by the central agency shortly after his release from Rampur district jail on October 31. He was produced before a Ghaziabad court the next day and sent to judicial custody. He was lodged in Dasna district jail in Ghaziabad.ED counsel Kuldeep Srivastava represented the agency during the proceedings. Assistant director Praveen Kumar was also present in court.Special CBI judge Vinod Kumar-VI allowed the ED’s application seeking four days of custody under Section 187(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, read with Sections 19 and 65 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.In its order, the court observed that the investigation had revealed a massive financial scam involving the alleged diversion of public funds and assets amounting to Rs 426.46 crore.The court held that custodial interrogation was imperative in view of the alleged concealment of proceeds of crime, the involvement of multiple entities and shell structures, and the need to establish the extensive money trail.Srivastava argued that the case originated from 26 FIRs relating to alleged land grabbing for the construction of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, extortion and diversion of government funds and contracts worth hundreds of crores.Seeking four days of custody, the agency submitted that Khan had remained evasive and non-cooperative during his earlier statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA.The ED told the court that custodial interrogation was necessary to examine the complex network of financial transactions routed through multiple banking channels, identify the ultimate beneficiaries and trace the alleged proceeds of crime.The agency also sought to confront Khan with a large volume of digital and documentary evidence, besides statements recorded from witnesses, donors and contractors. It expressed apprehension that, given his considerable local influence, he could potentially tamper with evidence or influence witnesses if not interrogated in custody.On the other hand, Yassir Abbasi, appearing for Khan, described him as an approximately 79-year-old man suffering from multiple age-related ailments and submitted that his medical records were already before the court.Abbasi questioned the timing of the arrest, pointing out that the ECIR had been registered in 2019, while the ED arrested Khan more than seven years later, immediately after his release from prison.He said the fresh custody application was intended to harass Khan rather than serve any genuine investigative purpose.After hearing both sides and examining the records, the court rejected the objections, holding that the gravity of the alleged economic offence, the need to trace the money trail and the concealment of proceeds of crime justified custodial interrogation.The court accordingly allowed the ED’s application, granting the agency four days to question Khan further in connection with the alleged financial irregularities surrounding Mohammad Ali Jauhar University and the associated trust.The money laundering investigation dates back to 2019, when 26 cases were reportedly registered against Khan. Based on these FIRs, the ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against him on August 1, 2019.According to the agency’s investigation, Khan allegedly occupied land belonging to farmers and subsequently established the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, which runs Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur.The ED has also alleged that illegal collections were made from contractors and other individuals during the construction of the university. The agency’s probe has identified transactions amounting to approximately Rs 426 crore as alleged proceeds of crime in the case.