Uttar Pradesh: Prayagraj MP-MLA Court found mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed guilty in the Umesh Pal kidnapping case and sentenced him to lifetime imprisonment on Tuesday, along with Dinesh Pasi and Khan Saulat Hanif. Convicts have also been fined with ₹5,000 each.
All the other seven accused, including the brother of Atiq Ahmed, Ashraf, have been acquitted by the Court.
Atiq Ahmed, a five-term MLA and an accused in the case, was transferred from Gujarat’s Sabarmati Jail to Prayagraj’s Naini jail on Monday after a nearly 24-hour journey from Gujarat.
Who is Atiq Ahmed and what is Umesh Pal Kidnapping Case?
Ahmed is a former MP and five-time MLA who was imprisoned in Sabarmati until Sunday for allegedly assaulting faculty members of an agricultural research institute in Prayagraj in 2016.
His political career began in 1989, when he was elected as an independent candidate to the Allahabad West MLA seat. Ahmed joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) after retaining his seat in the next two legislative Assembly elections, and won his fourth consecutive term in 1996. Three years later, he joined Apna Dal and won the seat again in 2002.
He entered the world of crime in the year 1976 when he was accused of murder and now has 100 cases lodged against him.
Atiq was allegedly invollved in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005, a key eye witness to which was Umesh Pal. Atiq, along with his associates, allegedly abducted Umesh in the year 2006 and forced him to give statement in court in their favour, in regard to which, Pal got a police complaint registered and the case was ongoing.
Umesh Pal was shot dead outside his residence in Prayagraj on February 24.
On the basis of a complaint from Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya, a case was filed at Prayagraj’s Dhoomaganj police station against Atiq, his brother Ashraf, wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Ghulam, and nine others.
The FIR also claimed that Atiq, Ashraf, and Parveen plotted to kill Umesh Pal and his security guard Sandeep Nishad, and that the attack was carried out by the former MP’s sons and aides.
Arbaaz and Vijay Chowdhary alias Usman, two men allegedly linked to Umesh Pal’s murder, were killed in police encounters on February 27 and March 6, respectively.
