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Journalism of Courage
A day after Umesh Pal, who was a witness in the January 2005 murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal, and his police guard were shot dead in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, police registered an FIR against jailed former MP Atiq Ahmed, his wife Sahista Parveen, their two sons, his younger brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf and others on Saturday (February 25).
The incident also led to a furore in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) of promoting criminals during its rule. The Chief Minister also vowed to “destroy mafias and criminals such as Ahmed”.
Who is Atiq Ahmed?
Currently lodged in a Gujarat jail in a case related to an assault on faculty members of an agricultural research institute in Prayagraj in 2016, Ahmed is a former MP and five-time MLA. His political journey began in 1989 when he won the MLA seat from Allahabad West as an independent candidate. After retaining his seat in the next two legislative Assembly elections, Ahmed joined the SP and won his fourth consecutive term in 1996. Three years later, He became part of Apna Dal and once again won the seat in 2002.
The next year, he returned to SP and became MP in 2004 from the Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency, a seat once held by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
The first major setback for the politician came when he was named in the murder case of Raju Pal. According to reports, the incident took place after Raju defeated Ahmed’s brother, Ashraf, in an Assembly bypoll held in 2005 for the Allahabad West seat. “It was a big loss for the Ahmed family as the seat had fallen vacant after Atiq won the Lok Sabha seat from Allahabad in the 2004 general elections”, The Indian Express said.
On January 25, 2005, Raju was shot dead near his house while he was returning from a hospital along with his associates Sandeep Yadav and Devi Lal. Subsequently, Raju’s wife lodged an FIR against Atiq, Ashraf and seven unidentified people on charges of rioting, attempt to murder, murder and criminal conspiracy.
Due to political and police pressure, Atiq Ahmed finally surrendered in 2008 only to be released in 2012. He then contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on an SP ticket but lost. Things worsened for him during this time as his relationship with the SP soured as Akhilesh Yadav distanced himself from Ahmed due to his criminal record.
In February 2017, he was arrested by the police for allegedly assaulting staff members of the Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences in Prayagraj. Despite being in prison, Ahmed contested against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat in 2019 and got 855 votes.
According to various media reports, the 60-year-old politician is facing over 70 cases of murder, attempt to murder, criminal intimidation and assault.
What is the Umesh Pal murder case?
After Umesh Pal was killed on Friday (February 24), his wife, Jaya, told the police that he was an eyewitness in the Raju Pal murder case. Not only this, she also alleged that in 2006, Ahmed and his associates kidnapped her husband and forced him to give a statement in their favour in court, The Indian Express reported.
Umesh and his police guards were shot at when they were returning home from a local court in Prayagraj. According to the report, Jaya alleged “Ahmed’s sons Guddu Muslim and Ghulam, and others came from behind, opened fire and hurled crude bombs at them.” Umesh and the police guard were rushed to the hospital where the doctors declared them dead. Another police guard is in critical condition.
