A court in Prayagraj found gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed guilty in the 2006 kidnapping of Umesh Pal, a witness in the murder of BSP Lawmaker Raju Pal. Umesh Pal was also slain last month in an alleged attack planned by the gangster cum politician, and his brother Ashraf. The court has yet to announce the case’s quantum. Read latest updates here
Ahmed, a former Samajwadi Party MP, has been lodged in the Sabarmati central jail since June 2019. He was shifted there following a Supreme Court order after he was accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and assault on real estate businessman Mohit Jaiswal while in prison in UP.
Ahmed is named in more than 100 criminal cases, including the recent Umesh Pal murder case, police had said.
Amid the developments, let’s take a look at who Atiq Ahmed is:
His Political Journey
Atiq’s criminal story began in 1979 when he was named as an accused in a murder case. Ten years later, he stepped into politics and won the Allahabad West assembly seat as an Independent in elections in 1989, 1991 and 1993. He contested the 1996 elections from the seat on the Samajwadi Party ticket and emerged victorious.
In 1999, he joined the Apna Dal (AD) and lost the Pratapgarh seat. He again won the Allahabad West seat in the 2002 Assembly elections on the Apna Dal ticket. In 2003, Atique returned to the SP fold and in 2004, he won from the Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency — the seat once held by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He was named as an accused in Raju Pal’s killing in 2005.
In the 2012 Assembly elections, Ateeq again tried his luck with Apna Dal from the same seat but lost to BSP’s Puja Pal by a margin of 8,885 votes. He also contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 from Shravasti on an SP ticket but lost.
In the sustained drive against gangsters under the Yogi Adityanath government, property worth over Rs 150 crore belonging to Atiq and his family members under the Gangster Act, has been attached, IANS reported.
The politician’s first major setback occurred when he was named in Raju Pal’s murder case, as per an Indian Express report. The report cited sources as saying that the the incident occurred after Raju defeated Ahmed’s brother, Ashraf, in an Assembly by-election for the Allahabad West seat in 2005. Raju’s wife then filed a FIR against Atiq, Ashraf, and seven unidentified others on allegations of rioting, attempted murder, murder, and criminal conspiracy.
Raju was shot dead outside his house on January 25, 2005, while coming from a hospital with his associates Sandeep Yadav and Devi Lal.
Atiq Ahmed finally surrendered in 2008 under political and police pressure, only to be released in 2012. He later ran for Lok Sabha in 2014 on an SP ticket, but lost. During this time, his relationship with the SP deteriorated, and Akhilesh Yadav distanced himself from Ahmed due to his criminal past, the report says. He was arrested by authorities in February 2017 for reportedly attacking staff members at the Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology, and Sciences in Prayagraj. In 2019, while he was still in jail, Ateeq filed a nomination from the Varanasi constituency against Prime Minister Narendra Modi but managed to get only 855 votes.
WHO IS UMESH PAL?
Umesh Pal is a key witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal who was gunned down outside his residence in Prayagraj in broad daylight on February 24.
On the basis of a complaint lodged by Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya Pal, a case was registered at Dhoomanganj police station (in Prayagraj) against Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Gulam and nine. The conspiracy to murder Umesh Pal was planned at Bareilly jail in Uttar Pradesh at the behest of infamous gangster Atiq Ahmed, reports have alleged. Atiq Ahmed’s brother Ashraf, who is an accused in Raju Pal’s murder, is lodged at Bareilly jail.
With inputs from PTI
This story was originally published on March 27, 2023.
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