Named in over 100 criminal cases with a long political career, gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed was shot dead along with his brother Ashraf late on Saturday. Convicted in the Umesh Pal murder case, he was handed a life term even as his case was touted by the Yogi Adityanath-led government as an example of strict action against mafia and “antisocial” elements.
His third son Asad Ahmed was killed only on Thursday in a “police encounter”. Atiq could not attend his son’s last rites as before the hearing of his plea, rituals took place as per Islamic traditions. Asad’s maternal grandfather and aunt’s husband performed the last rites as none of the immediate family members were present.
Atiq feared that he will be “encountered” by the UP Police when he was brought to a Prayagraj court. The gangster had even sought police protection, which was denied by the Supreme Court.
Who is Atiq Ahmed?
Atiq is a former MP and a five-time MLA. His political journey began in 1989, after he won the MLA seat as an independent candidate from UP’s Allahabad West. He retained this seat for the next two terms and joined the Samajwadi Party to win his fourth consecutive term in 1996.
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, Atiq 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.
Career shadowed by crime
After this, he was named in the murder case of Raju Pal in 2005. Raju was shot dead outside his house on January 25, 2005, while returning from a hospital with his associates Sandeep Yadav and Devi Lal.
In the 2012 assembly elections, Atiq again tried his luck with the 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.
Arrests and surrenders
Atiq 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 Atiq due to his criminal past.
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, Atiq filed a nomination from the Varanasi constituency against Prime Minister Narendra Modi but managed to get only 855 votes.
Cut to March, when he and seven others, including brother Ashraf, were convicted in the Umesh Pal case. Along with Atiq, Saulat Hanif and Dinesh Pasi were held guilty under Section 364A (kidnapping for ransom) — the maximum punishment which can be death or life sentence — and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy).
A fine of Rs 1 lakh was also imposed on the accused and this sum will have to be paid to the victim’s family.
Son Asad killed on April 14
Asad was killed in a police encounter by the UP STF in Jhansi on Thursday, and was buried in Prayagraj’s Kasari Masari village on Saturday.
Sources told News18 that Atiq was “extremely sad” for not being able to attend Asad’s burial. Sources quoted him telling police personnel: “It was my birth right to attend my son’s funeral. Allah is watching everything. He will not forgive anyone. You all want to destroy my entire family.”
The STF was searching for Asad for long but he was finally cornered near Jhansi’s Parichha Dam, and following a gun battle between 12.30 pm and 1 pm on Thursday, he was killed.
Now, what?
The anti-terror squad of Uttar Pradesh is likely to register a case against Atiq over “initial inputs of his Pakistan connection”. After Asad’s encounter, police had also revealed that he and aide Ghulam had “sophisticated” weapons, mobile phones and SIM cards.
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