FIR against Azam Khan in Jal Nigam hiring scam

Lucknow: Trouble is brewing for former Uttar Pradesh minister and senior Samajwadi leader Azam Khan.

An FIR has been lodged against him and four others by the special investigation team (SIT) into the irregularities in the alleged recruitment scam in Jal Nigam in 2016-17. The FIR was lodged late on Wednesday evening.

He was the chairman of the Jal Nigam apart from being the minister for urban development.

The others named in the FIR are former secretary urban development SP Singh (now retired IAS), Afaq Ahmad, former OSD to Azam Khan, former MD and chief engineer of Jal Nigam. The FIR has been lodged under the provision of Anti Corruption Act, fraud and cheating under IPC Sections 409,420,201 and 120 B.

It may be recalled that  the SIT, in March this year, had sought permission from the state government to file an FIR against Mr Khan and others, including government officials, after completing an inquiry into the recruitment scam.

SIT had found evidence of corruption and also that legal procedure was not followed for hiring 1,300 engineers and other staff for different positions in Jal Nigam.

The SIT report was submitted to the state government in March seeking direction to lodge FIR against Mr Khan and others.

The Yogi Adityanath government, in July last year, had ordered a probe into the recruitment after receiving complaints of corruption in the recruitment.