In another setback to Samajwadi Party (SP) General Secretary Mohammad Azam Khan, a court sentenced him to 10-year imprisonment in the Dungarpur case on Thursday.

Along with the 10-year jail term, the MP-MLA special court judge Dr Vijay Kumar imposed a fine of Rs 14 lakh on the SP leader while another convict in the case, Contractor Barkat Ali, has been awarded seven years of jail term.

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On Wednesday, the court declared Azam Khan and Contractor Barkat Ali guilty in the case.

The SP leader joined the hearing from Sitapur jail through video conferencing and Barkat Ali from Rampur jail.

In 2019, homeless people living in Dungarpur Colony in Rampur filed 12 cases against Azam Khan in the Ganj police station under sections about looting, theft, assault, and other charges in the name of vacating the colony.

During the SP regime in 2016, shelter homes were built after the demolition of the houses of the people living in Dungarpur Basti. The affected people alleged that the police, under the SP government, forcibly vacated their houses at the behest of Azam Khan. Their belongings were looted and houses demolished.

The verdict has come in three of these Dungarpur cases. Khan was acquitted in two other cases earlier while in another case, he was sentenced to seven-year imprisonment. Today, the verdict came in the fourth case.

As per the case, one, Abrar Hussain, a resident of Dungarpur, lodged a complaint at the Ganj police station on August 13, 2019, that the then CO Ale Hasan, Inspector Firoz Khan, contractor Barkat Ali, JE Parvez Alam of C&DS reached the colony in the morning of December 6, 2016 and asked them to vacate the house. Inspector Firoz opened fire at them while looting his washing machine, gold, silver, and Rs 5,000.

During the deliberations, the name of SP leader Azam Khan was also included. There are also allegations of murderous attack and robbery in this case.

So far, 108 cases have been registered against Azam Khan of which 80 cases are going on trial. The court has sentenced the SP leader in six cases in the last 17 months while acquitting him in four others. One of the cases in which he was acquitted has been challenged in the high court by the prosecution.

A ten-time MLA, Azam Khan is a strong SP leader. He has been a cabinet minister four times, a Rajya Sabha member, and a Lok Sabha member.

A total of 108 cases were registered against the SP leader in Rampur, Moradabad, Firozabad, and other districts of UP, of which 80 cases are pending in the court.