The Yogi Adityanath government is relentlessly working to wipe out the illicit mafia empire of the late Atiq Ahmed. Now, the authorities have attached his Greater Noida home, which has been estimated to be around Rs 4 crore. The property located at sector 36, which is named “Mannat“, will be attached by the police under section 14(1) of the Gangster Act.
Reportedly they are preparing to run a bulldozer on bungalow number A 107 which derived its name from Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s famous mansion in Mumbai’s affluent Bandstand area of upscale Bandra West. The reason behind it is that the mobster was a huge fan of the actor and thus named his favourite place after the latter’s home.
Mannat was built by Atiq Ahmed in 1994 for the education of his sons who attended a university located in Greater Noida. However, rather than being employed for the intended purpose, it began to be used to perform unlawful and criminal activities. He used to hold meetings here with his operatives whenever he travelled to Delhi. Many land deals were finalised behind its four walls.
It consequently turned into a sanctuary for lawbreakers. Notably, his son Asad and shooter Ghulam came to Mannat through Kanpur after carrying out the murder of Umesh Pal last year. They had come to retrieve the money, which was discovered to be buried here during the police inquiry. They absconded from there after some time. The mobster reportedly sent his special men who were fugitives to hide here. Police have searched every single room of the house and sealed it.
Atiq Ahmed’s prior bank records were examined by the Octopus team of police and additional research unearthed the truth. The squad looked up his bank account information and couldn’t find any record of purchasing it which meant that he bought the house with proceeds of crime. This luxurious three-story home has all the comforts. His cronies were also unaware of it. It was only known to Atiq and Ashraf’s family members.
According to City Deputy Commissioner of Police Deepak Bhukar, Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma’s court directed the confiscation of Atiq Ahmed’s house under the Gangster Act. He was allotted this 500 square meter plot in 1994 after which he built the house there. The police also sought the help of the administration, development authority and the bank during the probe.
The police are pursuing the illegal belongings of Atiq Ahmed. The law and the government are clamping down on his assets and his gang’s black money. 16 illegal properties situated in Prayagraj which were occupied by him were attached last year. Prayagraj Police Commissionerate had attached 5.0510 hectares i.e. about 20 bigha land of Atiq Ahmed in Kathula Gospur of the Airport police station area under the Gangster Act. The value of these properties was reportedly about Rs 12 crore and were registered by his operatives at very low prices. His mason Hublal revealed information on them as he was scared after the mafia’s murder on 15th April 2023.
Hublal unveiled all the secrets of gangster Atiq Ahmed before the police. He mentioned that 16 properties were registered in his name on 14th August 2015. A charge was filed in the Khuldabad police station in 2020 regarding the assets which belonged to 14 Dalit farmers but were filed under Hublal’s name after intimidation and death threats to the real owners. Gangster act was imposed against Atiq, Niaz, Zahid, Riaz and Mohammad Sheikh.
The issue was investigated by the Cantt police station but no action was taken. However, after the group broke up following the deaths of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Azeem alias Khalid Azim the cops established their dominance in the community after which people eventually spilled out the truth about the dreaded don.
Atiq Ahmed had contested from the Varanasi parliamentary seat in 2019. He had declared total assets of 25 crores in the election affidavit. The affidavit listed that he had more than a dozen bank accounts. However, apart from this, he had fraudulently created intangible wealth. He had amassed an empire of Rs 1200 crore. Most of these properties were acquired via unlawful possession.
However, the countdown of his began in the year 2020. The majority of his illicit belongings were either seized or destroyed by the authorities and police. Government officials now own his 417 crore property, while the remaining 752 crore property has been demolished. The primary issue is that his family is dispersed throughout the country.
He used to forcefully take over the lands of people and threatened to kill them. He boasted, “Go wherever you want but you won’t get the land back.” Unknown gunmen would frequently establish a boundary around someone’s plot out of nowhere before it was discovered that the property now belonged to Atiq. He once personally went to acquire land close to PGI in Lucknow along with his armed gang. The hundreds of cars in the convoy terrified the citizens of the capital however, the cops had no control over him.
The Enforcement Directorate had raided 15 of his relatives’ properties before Atiq and his brother were shot dead. It contained more than a hundred documents pertaining to illicit and benami properties. It was also disclosed at the time that he had purchased other homes in the high-end neighbourhoods of Prayagraj and Lucknow.
Atiq and his family were listed as the registered owners of these properties. The agency also found proof of a 5900-square-meter bungalow valued at Rs 47 lakh in Lucknow that had been authorised in the mafia’s name. This Gomtinagar plot was listed for just 29 lakh rupees in 2013 even though the circle rate gave it a worth of Rs 47 lakh. It is allegedly priced more than one crore at the moment.
