Several notorious gangsters, including Mukhtar Ansari, Raja Bhaiya, and Amarmani Tripathi, were harboured in Uttar Pradesh and celebrated by the media and some politicians who referred to them as ‘Baahubali’ leaders. Atiq Ahmed, a criminal turned politician with close relations to the late Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, was one such notable name.
Many of these leaders with criminal backgrounds had a very important role in bringing Mulayam Singh and Mayawati (Bahujan Samaj Party chief) to the chief ministerial positions in the state. As quid pro quo, these criminals were not only inducted into their respective political parties, and offered election tickets and important positions but all efforts were made to thwart any measure which was undertaken to bring them to justice.
They would turn to crime, rise to positions of leadership, and eventually join the government. The strand was broken for the first time after Yogi Adityanath became the CM in 2017. The government’s patronisation of mafia elements was brought to a halt.
The rule of Atiq Ahmed’s terror
Atiq Ahmed wanted to make a comeback in the 2017 UP assembly elections but the public was more than fed up with the continuous patronage of criminals by SP-BSP and had another thing in mind. As a result, both political parties were humiliated in the polls and Yogi Adityanath took over as the chief minister for a second consecutive term.
In 2017, the Samajwadi Party had initially declared Atiq as their candidate, but after widespread criticism, they had to drop his name Atiq told that though Akhilesh Yadav likes him, he is opting out of contesting elections because he does not want Akhilesh to face media criticism because of him.
Atiq Ahmed had a fierce appearance that went well with his criminal persona. Any prison he visited didn’t want to keep him. He used to manage his illicit organisation while incarcerated. His henchmen were prepared to cause mayhem wherever and at any time, under his command. His messages reached his operators whether he was outside or inside the jail. The policeman monitoring him reported the fear of Atiq was so rampant that people avoid eye contact with him.
He viewed himself as the Muslim community’s leader. He was transferred to Bareilly Jail because managing him in the one in Deoria was becoming challenging. As soon as he arrived there, more security was set up, and the number of police officers was also raised. All things, however, turned out to be useless.
The incident in Deoria Jail
Mohit Jaiswal, a proprietor from Bareilly, had filed a report at the Krishna Nagar police station in 2018. He addressed the injustice that was meted out to him. He reported that Atiq Ahmed’s goons had hanged and assaulted him in front of the latter and his son Umar Ahmed. Shockingly, the entire incident happened inside Deoria Jail. The businessman’s five enterprises, worth Rs 45 crore were forcibly transferred into the gangster’s name.
Mohit Jaiswal’s Fortuner was broken into and stolen. Atiq Ahmed had already extorted thousands of rupees from him, two years ago. Now, he had been demanding more money for the past four months. He had also broken two fingers on the man’s right hand in jail.
Along with Mohit Jaiswal, another businessman had accused him of harassment. Mohammad Zayed Khalid, from Prayagraj, submitted a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the police administration, charging that Atiq Ahmed’s men had taken him forcibly to Deoria Jail. He was assaulted there and asked to transfer some of his land in Vishnupur to the gangster’s name. Neither any jail personnel nor police officers appeared to assist Zayed because of Atiq Ahmed’s deep relationship with some political sections.
Atiq Ahmed’s political career
In 1989, Atiq Ahmed won the election from Allahabad West and made his debut appearance in the state assembly with more than 25,000 (33%) votes. He ran for office again in 1991 from Allahabad West and won easily with 51% of the votes. More than 36,000 people voted for him in this election. With 56,000 votes cast in the assembly elections of 1993, he received a 49% vote share.
Not only did he garner more votes in 1996, but the percentage of votes increased as well. He earned about 73,000 votes which was 53% of the total vote. Even though he received far fewer votes in 2002 than in his first election, both the number of votes and the percentage of the vote stayed roughly the same and he managed to win again. This is how he took charge of Allahabad West, five times.
He contested the first three elections as an independent. He became close to Mulayam Singh Yadav and won his 1996 election on SP ticket. Similarly, in 2002, he became a confidant of Apna Dal founder Sone Lal Patel and won the election on his party ticket. Atiq Ahmed was also the president of Apna Dal (Sonelal) from 1999 and 2003.
Raju Pal murder case
After Atiq Ahmed was elected as a member of Parliament from Phulpur on SP ticket in 2004, Raju Pal of the BSP defeated Atiq Ahmed’s brother Ashraf Ahmed alias Khalid Azim in the Allahabad West by-election. On January 25, 2005, Raju Pal and his companions were attacked by armed assailants in the vicinity of the Dhoomanganj police station in Prayagraj.
In addition to Ruksana, Saif alias Saifulla, and Om Prakash Pal suffering injuries, the tragedy claimed the lives of Raju Pal and his two associates Devilal Pal and Sandeep Yadav. An FIR was filed at the Dhoomanganj police station regarding the murder and other charges against Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, and seven unnamed people on the basis of the complaint submitted by Raju Pal’s wife Pooja.
Later, when Atiq Ahmed was ousted from the SP, the BSP refused to offer him a ticket because of his involvement in the murder of the party’s MLA. Ashraf Ahmed contested again in the by-election that was held as a result of the murder of Raju Pal.
Atiq Ahmed’s criminal background
The gangster was proud of the charges against him. As an SP candidate for Shrawasti constituency in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, which he lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Daddan Mishra, he boasted that he has 188 outstanding cases against him and has spent half of his life behind bars. He declared that he would go to any extremes for his supporters, irrespective of the consequences. He had no fear of the law during the SP and BSP governments in the state.
Atiq Ahmed was the first person who was booked under the ‘Gangster Act’ in Uttar Pradesh. His criminal history ran very deep. He was accused of murder at the young age of 17. After that, he became so well-known in the underworld that his popularity even overshadowed that of the dons of Mumbai. 102 cases were lodged against him, including those of threats, murder attempts, and kidnapping. The gangster act was also invoked three times.
Guest House case: Atiq was one of the goons who had attacked Mayawati
He was involved in attacking Mayawati in the 1995 ‘guest house case’. In this context, Atiq Ahmed has been mentioned on several occasions by former UP chief minister Mayawati, who affirmed that he plotted her murder. In June 1995, when BSP had announced taking back its support from the Mulayam government, she was attacked by SP goons inside the Meerabai guesthouse in Lucknow.
He brutally attacked the staff members of the Agricultural University (SHUATS) in 2016 which led to severe criticism of the then Akhilesh Yadav’s SP government.
Even the court declined to hear his case due to extreme fear. One after another, ten judges refused to take up his case. Eventually, the 11th one mustered the courage, and Atiq Ahmed was granted bail. Finally, The Supreme Court took a strong stance and a bench presided over by the then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi ordered a CBI investigation in addition to ordering his transfer to Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat.
The Supreme Court directed the state government to submit reports in 80 other cases, apart from the 26 cases pending against him. It was also disclosed in the court that 102 cases have been registered against him so far. Many cases are lodged against his brothers and if the ongoing legal proceedings against his family, associates, and relatives are taken into account, the actual number of criminal cases may exceed the gangster’s claim. Substantial involvement of jail officials has also come to light and departmental action is being taken against them.
Umesh Pal murder case
The primary witness in the 2005 BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case, Umesh Pal, was fatally shot on February 24 in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, close to his home. The attack took the lives of two policemen assigned to guard the lawyer. The entire incident was recorded on CCTV camera. Umesh Pal had also disclosed that he had been kidnapped on February 28, 2006, under fear of force, since he refused to back down and submit to Atiq Ahmed’s pressure.
It was also reported that some time ago when another hardcore criminal, Guddu Muslim alias Guddu Bambaz’s condition was grave and he had fallen sick, Atiq Ahmed had given him Rs 8 lakh. He used explosives to attack Umesh Pal in order to pay back the gangster.
Atiq Ahmed, his son Asad Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed (an ex-MLA) were among the prime accused in the case. Atiq Ahmed’s absconding wife Shaista Parveen who carries a reward of Rs 50,000 is also named as an accused. Their sons Umar and Ali are in jail and two minor sons are in the Children Protection Home under the close watch of the police.
Events following Umesh Pal’s murder
Six of the eight accused related to the Umesh Pal murder case have died since February. The initial encounter took place on February 27 in Prayagraj when sharpshooter Arbaz, who drove the SUV of the assailants of Umesh Pal, was killed by Umesh Pal’s attackers. Following that, Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman was encountered on March 6, also in Prayagraj.
Asad Ahmed, son of Atiq Ahmed, and Mohammad Ghulam, both with a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on their heads were shot dead by police in an exchange of fire near the Pariksha Dam in Jhansi, on April 13. The accused had one British Bulldog Revolver .455 bore and Walther P88 7.63 bore pistol in their possession.
Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were shot dead on April 15 while being taken to a hospital. The murder was committed in front of cameras and full media glare, and the three shooters surrendered before the police officers present at the scene.
Police are now searching for the remaining accused including Guddu Muslim who have managed to escape so far. Furthermore, several properties owned by Atiq Ahmed and his associates, including where Shaista Parveen was living, were also bulldozed by the UP administration.
Links with Pakistan
Atiq Ahmed had ties to Pakistani terrorist organisations, according to the Uttar Pradesh Police’s charge sheet against him. He reportedly admitted to having regular contact with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Dawood Ibrahim’s D-Company and also received arms dropped through Pakistani drones in Punjab.
He and his brother Ashraf Ahmed informed the police that they knew the address of the individuals who provided the weaponry to them and would be able to able to identify them once they reached the location. They added that Pakistan-based organisations provided the firearms used in the grisly killing of Umesh Pal.
Asad Ahmed, son of Atiq Ahmed, and Mohammad Ghulam, were given shelter and financial support by a henchman of gangster Abu Salem who was Dawood’s aide and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2015.
Attempts to whitewash Atiq Ahmed’s black profile
Many so-called ‘secular’ journalists and Leftists are only highlighting the political career of the gangster by referring to him as a ‘former MP’ and projecting him as a regular politician, while conveniently ignoring the criminal part which dominated most of his life. They are consciously attempting to erase his existence as the dreaded mafia, with over 100 charges against him, including the most serious ones involving murder and extortion and his connection with Pakistan and its terrorist outfits.
They are attempting to divert the blame for his death onto supposed ‘Hindu terrorists’ because the three shooters allegedly shouted ‘Jai Shree Ram,’ ignoring the fact that there is no proof to back up their outlandish claims. More importantly, Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab tied a ‘kalawa’ around his wrist in order to frame innocent Hindus in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Hence, merely shouting the slogan doesn’t amount to any proof. The possibility that Atiq Ahmed and his brother were killed as a result of a gang war is not ruled out yet. As bizarre as it may seem, some even went so far as to assert, that he was murdered in order to draw attention away from Satyapal Malik’s recent interview with Karan Thapar.
The aftermath of Atiq Ahmed’s death
Section 144 is now in effect across the entire Uttar Pradesh which means that gatherings larger than four people are not allowed, and more police officers have been deployed to maintain law and order. Furthermore, all police officers in the state have had their leaves revoked and are now required to report to work immediately. In addition, 17 cops are suspended as CM Yogi has ordered a probe by a high-level committee into the case.
Notably, people with criminal backgrounds refrain from committing crimes in order to present a clean image in public after entering politics. Numerous politicians who had many lawsuits filed against them ultimately turned away from crime and started their careers as leaders and businessmen. Atiq Ahmed on the other hand, is an exception. Despite having a successful political career, he kept one foot in the underworld.
Atiq Ahmed consistently contested elections and won six times, but this only worked to feed his malicious intentions to expand his criminal enterprise. As his speeches and activities show, the gangster was visibly proud of being a criminal who wielded political power.
