Atiq Ahmed (1962-2023) was an Indian gangster-turned-politician. He was a former Member of Parliament, who was elected as a member of the legislative assembly in Uttar Pradesh for five consecutive terms. He is known for having various criminal cases against him including one of the most sensational murders of the Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Raju Pal, who had defeated Atique’s brother Ashraf in the 2004 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections. Despite being imprisoned on criminal charges, Atiq contested several elections to maintain his political influence. On 15 April 2023, he was shot dead by three men at the premises of MLN Medical College, Prayagraj.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Atiq Ahmed was born on Friday, 10 August 1962 (age 61 years; as of 2023) in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh, India. He attended Majidiya Islamiya Intermediate College (MIC) in Allahabad, where he passed his 8th-grade examinations; however, he failed in the 10th grade in 1979.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Hair Colour: Salt & Pepper (semi-bald)
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name is Haji Firoz Ahmad. Atiq had a younger brother named Ashraf alias Khalid Azim alias Khalid Azeem Ashraf.
Atiq Ahmed (left) with his brother Ashraf Ahmed
Wife & Children
He got married to Shaista Parveen in 1996.
Atiq Ahmed’s wife, Shaista Parveen
Atiq had five sons named Ali Ahmed, Umar Ahmed, Asad Ahmed, Ahzaan Ahmed, and Abaan Ahmed.
Atiq Ahmed’s son Umar Ahmed
Atiq Ahmed’s son Ali Ahmed
Atiq Ahmed’s son Asad Ahmed
His son Asad was killed on 13 April 2023 in a police encounter in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh; an arrest warrant was issued for Asad in connection with the murder of Umesh Pal, and a bounty of Rs 5 lakh was placed on his head. [1]India Today
Religion
Atiq Ahmed followed Islam.
Career
Politician
Member of Legislative Assembly
In 1989, he contested and won the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections from the Allahabad West constituency as an independent candidate. He won the 1991 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections from the Allahabad West constituency as an independent candidate. He joined the Samajwadi Party in 1993 and remained in the party till 1999. Atiq won the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections for the third time as an independent candidate from Allahabad West in 1993. Atiq Ahmed contested and won the 1996 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the Allahabad West constituency on a ticket from the Samajwadi Party (SP). After joining Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) in 1999, Atiq became its president and remained in the post till 2003. Atiq was re-elected as an MLA from the Allahabad West constituency in 2002; he contested on a ticket from Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) party. In 2003, he re-joined Samajwadi Party. In 2012, Atiq Ahmed contested the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections from the Allahabad West constituency on a ticket from the Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) party. According to reports, he contested on Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) party’s ticket because the Samajwadi Party had expelled him and the Bahujan Samaj Party refused to give him a ticket. [2]Business Standard He filed the nominations for the elections from Basti Jail, Uttar Pradesh while he was waiting for his bail in a Gangster Act case. 10 judges at the Allahabad High Court refused to conduct a hearing session on his bail petition; however, the 11th judge agreed to conduct a hearing on his bail plea and granted him bail before the 2012 UP state assembly elections. Atiq lost the seat to the BSP politician Raju Pal’s widow, Pooja Pal. In September 2021, he joined the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party.
Member of Parliament
In 2004, he contested the General elections for the Phulpur Lok Sabha seat on a ticket from the Samajwadi Party (SP) and was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha. His tenure ended on 16 May 2009.
A Gangster with more than 100 Criminal Cases
Atiq grew up in Allahabad, where he met a gangster named Chaand Baba. Atiq, who failed his 10th-grade exams, was taken under Chaand’s wing. Under Chaand’s leadership, Atiq began to learn the ways of the criminal underworld and slowly gained a reputation as a ruthless enforcer. With the intent of taking over Chaand’s criminal empire, Atiq killed him in 1989. Thereafter, he undertook several criminal activities such as dacoity, robbery, and murder and became a notorious criminal in Allahabad. Atiq went on to commit various crimes including dacoity, robbery, and murder. Reportedly, he was the first criminal to be charged under Uttar Pradesh’s Gangster Act, making him called Uttar Pradesh’s first gangster.
Controversies
Cases Where Charges Framed
- 22 charges related to criminal intimidation (IPC Section-506)
- 8 charges related to Murder (IPC Section-302)
- 8 charges related to Attempt to Murder (IPC Section-307)
- 4 charges related to Cheating and dishonesty inducing delivery of property (IPC Section-420)
- 4 charges related to Kidnapping or abducting in order to murder (IPC Section-364)
- 3 charges related to Extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt (IPC Section-386)
- 3 charges related to extortion (IPC Section-384)
- 2 charges related to Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty (IPC Section-332)
- 2 charges related to Forgery for purpose of cheating (IPC Section-468)
- 2 charges related to Putting person in fear of death or of grievous hurt, in order to commit extortion (IPC Section-387)
- 2 charges related to House-trespass after preparation of hurt, assault or wrongful restraint (IPC Section-452)
- 2 charges related to Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender (IPC Section-201)
- 1 charges related to House-trespass in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment (IPC Section-451)
- 1 charges related to voluntarily causing grievous hurt (IPC Section-325)
- 1 charges related to Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony (IPC Section-153A)
- 1 charges related to Giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction of capital offence (IPC Section-194)
- 1 charges related to Threatening any person to give false information (IPC Section-195A)
- 1 charges related to Kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person (IPC Section-365)
- 1 charges related to Wrongfully concealing or keeping in confinement, kidnapped or abducted person (IPC Section-368)
- 1 charges related to false evidence (IPC Section-193)
- 1 charges related to dacoity (IPC Section-395)
- 1 charges related to Voluntarily causing hurt to extort property, or to constrain to an illegal act (IPC Section-327)
- 1 charges related to Mischief with intent to destroy or make unsafe a decked vessel or one of twenty tons burden (IPC Section-437)
Cases Where Cognizance Taken
- 19 charges related to Punishment for Rioting (IPC Section-147)
- 19 charges related to Punishment of criminal conspiracy (IPC Section-120B)
- 19 charges related to Intentional insullt with intent to provoke breach of the peace (IPC Section-504)
- 15 charges related to Rioting, armed with deadly weapon (IPC Section-148)
- 13 charges related to Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object (IPC Section-149)
- 13 charges related to Mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees (IPC Section-427)
- 11 charges related to voluntarily causing hurt (IPC Section-323)
- 7 charges related to wrongful Confinement (IPC Section-342)
- 6 charges related to Act endangering life or personal safety of others (IPC Section-336)
- 5 charges related to Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention (IPC Section-34)
- 5 charges related to wrongful restraint (IPC Section-341)
- 4 charges related to house trespass (IPC Section-448)
- 3 charges related to Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty (IPC Section-353)
- 3 charges related to cheating by personation (IPC Section-419)
- 2 charges related to criminal trespass (IPC Section-447)
- 1 charges related to Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant (IPC Section-188)
- 1 charges related to making use of any such false mark (IPC Section-488)
- 1 charges related to Negligent conduct with respect to explosive substance (IPC Section-286)
- 1 charges related to Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot-if rioting be committed-if not committed (IPC Section-153)
- 1 charges related to Being member of an unlawful assembly (IPC Section-143)
- 1 charges related to Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record (IPC Section-471) [4]MyNeta
Atiq Ahmed vs Raju Pal
Atiq Ahmed’s political career has been marked by controversy, particularly with his involvement in the murder of Raju Pal, a member of the Bahujan Samaj Party. Raju entered politics in 2002 and became a threat to Atiq and his brother’s political careers. In 2004, when Atiq became the Member of Parliament from Phulpur (also known as Phoolpur), his seat in the UP Vidhan Sabha fell vacant after which there were by-elections held in the Allahabad West constituency in which his younger brother, Ashraf alias Khalid Azim, contested on a ticket from the Samajwadi Party (SP) against the BSP candidate Raju Pal. In the elections, Raju Pal secured a victory over Ashraf following which the political rivalry turned into a personal rivalry. Ashraf, however, lost the elections and the Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Raju Pal won. The political rivalry turned into a personal rivalry.
Raju Pal
Raju was attacked by a group of gangsters in the Sulem Sarai area on 25 January 2005, while he was going home from Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital, Allahabad in his car. According to sources, he was hit by around 18 bullets and two people, Sandeep Yadav and Devi Lal, who were with him, were also shot dead. Assailants fired on another car, which was following Raju Pal’s vehicle, resulting in injuring three other people named Ruksana, Saif alias Saifulla, and Om Prakash Pal. The murder was a sensational case that garnered national attention, and Atiq was accused of being the mastermind behind it.
The Murder of Raju Case Witness
Following the murder of Raju Pal, his widow, Puja Pal (also spelt as Pooja Pal), lodged an FIR against Atiq Ahmed and his younger brother Ashraf. In 2006, Puja filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court, requesting a CBI probe into the case. According to sources, Raju Pal’s brother-in-law Umesh Pal, a lawyer, was a key witness in the case.
Umesh Pal
Reportedly, on 28 February 2006, Atiq Ahmed’s goons abducted Umesh and threatened him not to bear witness in court following which Umesh filed an FIR at Dhoomanganj Police Station in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) against Atiq and Ashraf. Thereafter, the case was transferred to the state’s crime branch in December 2008. The officials were successful in arresting Atiq’s brother Ashraf, who absconded after the murder of Raju Pal, in 2011. On 24 February 2023, Umesh Pal was shot dead by armed men, identified as the goons of Atiq Ahmed, near his house in Dhoomanganj’s Sulem Saray locality. According to reports, assailants hurled crude bombs at Umesh Pal and fired several rounds of ammunition. Following Umesh’s death, his widow, Jaya Pal, lodged an FIR against 27 people, including Atiq Ahmad, his wife, Shaista Parveen, two sons, brother Khalid Azeem aka Ashraf, and others. They were booked under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Explosive Substances Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act. [5]Hindustan Times
SHUATS Assault Case
Kidnapping and Assaulting a Businessman in Deoria Jail
Businessman Mohit Jaiswal during an interview
Reportedly, two other businessmen accused Atiq of kidnapping and assaulting them in Deoria jail. On 31 December 2018, the government ordered the Deoria jail administration to shift Atiq to Bareilly prison. [7]ThePrint In June 2019, Atiq was shifted from Prayagraj Central Jail to the Sabarmati Jail in Ahmedabad. [8]The Times of India
Convicted in the Umesh Pal kidnapping case
A Prayagraj court found Atiq Ahmed, Saulat Hanif, a lawyer, and Dinesh Pasi guilty of kidnapping Umesh Pal in 2006 on 28 March 2023; special MP-MLA court judge Dinesh Chandra Shukla found them guilty under section 364-A of the Indian Penal Code (kidnapping or abduction for murder). The court, however, found seven individuals, including Atiq Ahmed’s brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, not guilty. On 27 March 2023, the Uttar Pradesh police transported Atiq Ahmed from a Gujarat prison to Prayagraj after a 24-hour road trip. Umesh Pal was shot dead on 24 February 2023 as he exited the back seat of a Hyundai Creta SUV in Prayagraj; his two police bodyguards were also killed. [9]NDTV
Assets & Properties
Movable Assets
- Cash: Rs. 5,26,700
- Bank Deposits: Rs. 1,01,52,759
- Bonds, Debentures & Shares in Companies: Rs. 20,00,000
- Motor Vehicles: Rs. 32,76,000
- Other Assets & Weapons: Rs. 20,64,856
Immovable Assets
- Agricultural Land: Rs. 6,31,58,000
- Non-Agricultural Land: Rs. 7,86,10,000
- Commercial Buildings: Rs. 1,25,00,000
- Residential Buildings: Rs. 9,56,70,000
Note: The given estimates of movable and immovable assets are according to the year 2014. It excludes the assets owned by his wife and dependents (minor). [10]MyNeta
Net Worth
Atiq Ahmed’s net worth for the financial year 2014 was estimated to be Rs. 26 crores. [11]MyNeta It excludes the net worth of his wife and dependents (minors).
Death
On 15 April 2023, while Atiq and his brother were near the premises of MLN Medical College Prayagraj, three unidentified men shot Atiq and his brother in the head. At the time of the firing, media persons were having a conversation with Atiq. The shooters were immediately nabbed by the policemen. [12]India Today
Facts/Trivia
- Atiq was also known as ‘Atiq Pehelwaan.’
- His name is also spelt as Atique Ahmed and Ateeq Ahmed.
- Apart from being a politician, Atiq was also a contractor, property dealer, and agriculturist.
- On 8 August 2002, Atiq Ahmed, the then-sitting MLA from Allahabad West, was attacked by a bomb during a court hearing; however, he survived. Reportedly, a case was filed against him owing to his rivalry with Mayawati. After the attack, Atiq accused the Superintendent of Police Lalji Shukla and the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati of masterminding the attack. According to some sources, Atiq had planned this attack, seeking national attention.
References
