Azam Khan booked over irregularities during Jal Nigam recruitment

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was today booked by the SIT of Uttar Pradesh Police for alleged irregularities during recruitment in Jal Nigam under the previous regime.

Khan was booked along with others under IPC section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 420 (cheating)and 120(B) (criminal conspiracy) besides section 13(1)(D) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, official sources said here.

The SIT is probing complaints of anomalies during the recruitment of 1,342 persons inJal Nigamunder the Akhilesh Yadav regime.

"Khan, then urban development minister, along with officer on special duty (OSD)Syed Afaq Ahmed, then secretary urban development department Prakash Singh, managing director of Jal Nigam Prem Kumar Assudani, chief engineer Anil Kumar Khare among others have been named in the FIR," sources said.

The firm Aptech which conducted the online exam for the recruitment was also named in the FIR, they said.

An inquiry was set up by the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government in July last year to find out whether people were given jobs in an illegal manner between November, 2016 and February, 2017 for different positions at the Jal Nigam.

Khan was the chairman of the body when the recruitment drive was conducted.

Set up in 1975, the Jal Nigam, an autonomous body, looks after the water distribution network in the state. It is also responsible for the maintenance and providing sewerage services.

The BJP government had terminated 122 Jal Nigam assistant engineers in August last year, while the fate of others would be decided once the SIT completes the probe.

Khan was questioned by the SIT on January 22 in this regard, wherein he had claimed that the recruitment was done as per law and that the BJP government was hell bent on tarnishing his image.

The Allahabad High Court had ordered a probe into the allegations after some candidates who were not selected in the recruitment drive moved the court.