SP MP Atiq turns in

Sources told Express that the Samajwadi Party MP from Phoolpur had come to the state capital last night and had even met the CM before leaving for Allahabad. His surrender before Chief Judicial Magistrate M.U. Abbasi, around 11 am, indicates what must have transpired between the two.

Pal’s widow Pooja had named Atiq in the FIR lodged with the Dhumanganj police and in a petition had alleged that the state police was not impartial in its investigation. The apex court had issued notices to the government and the CBI in this regard.

Atiq, who surrendered before the Chief Judicial Magistrate today, also moved a bail application, which was turned down.

Coaxing the MP to surrender is being seen as Mulayam’s last-ditch effort to ensure the longevity of his government following indications that President’s Rule may be imposed on the law and order issue. ‘‘The Centre will have to face dire consequences if President’s Rule was imposed in Uttar Pradesh,’’ he had said in Jhansi on Friday.

Reacting to the surrender, BSP’s national general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra said it was merely an attempt by the Mulayam government to ‘‘ escape a CBI probe.’’

On his way to Naini jail, Atiq told reporters that he has surrendered because his name figured in the FIR. ‘‘There is a conspiracy against me and the SP government. All other political parties are out to get me, it seems. So, I thought it best to surrender in court before the police arrested me,’’ he said.

The gangster-turned-politician had been last sent to jail in 2002, on charges under the National Security Act, after then CM Mayawati accused him of trying to kill her.

Interestingly, the state police had been reluctant to arrest the MP. ‘‘Raju Pal’s wife had named Ashraf Ahmed to be among the assailants in the FIR, but regarding Atiq, she had only said that Raju Pal used to tell her that there was a threat to his life from the MP. Atiq cannot be arrested on such conjectures,’’ IG (Allahabad Zone) A.C. Sharma had told Express earlier.