The Life and Sudden Death of Atiq Ahmed

THE FOUR-DECADE LONG CRIME STORY OF Atiq Ahmed came to an abrupt end when three assailants passing themselves off as local journal­ists shot him dead along with his brother Ashraf at point-blank range while they were coming out of a local hospital after a medical examination.

A few years before that fateful night of April 15, the dreaded mafia don known among locals as “Atiq Chakiya”, did feel his hold on Allahabad (now Prayagraj) and adjoining cities waver­ing. He even began to fear for his life, just like another east Ut­tar Pradesh (UP) don Mukhtar Ansari. The common factor that changed matters for the two dreaded dons who also became politicians, leading to them running scared instead of terrorising victims, was the advent of the Yogi Adityanath government in UP.

Both sought protection from the court claiming a threat to their lives. While Mukhtar managed a shift to a Punjab jail, only to be brought back by the UP government on the directives of the Supreme Court, Atiq was moved to Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat in 2019 on the orders of the apex court after it came to light he had organised the beating and extortion of a businessman.

Atiq since then felt safe but suffo­cated, as his empire created by illegal means across the state began crum­bling gradually. As many as 160 cases had been lodged against the family of the gangster-turned-politician. Prop­erties worth ₹11,684 crore belong­ing to Atiq and his family have been seized to date.

More than 160 criminal cases are lodged against his family members, according to Uttar Pradesh Police. Atiq was named in 100 cases while his brother Ashraf in 52 cases, wife Shaista Praveen has three against her and sons Ali and Umar Ahmed have a handful of cases against them as well.

Some 54 cases involving Atiq are currently under trial in vari­ous courts. The Prayagraj district administration also says it has released properties amounting to ₹751 crore forcibly occupied by Atiq and his associates.

When the Yogi Adityanath government came to office in the state, Atiq and his henchmen were forced to shut down their business of illegal contracts and tenders, causing heavy losses. Going by a rough estimate, government action led to Atiq and his associates suffering losses worth ₹1,200 crore a year. It was hardly surprising that the don, who was won elec­tions on a Samajwadi Party (SP) ticket, was at odds with the state government.

Adityanath has often spoken about actions taken by his gov­ernment to improve law and order, including frequent demoli­tion by bulldozers to raze illegal property of criminals and the mafia. He has made war on crime a defining feature of his gov­ernment and pursued a proactive encounter policy where the message to criminals was that they should surrender and that resistance or flight would invite action. The law and order and political faultlines neatly overlap, as Adityanath has repeatedly attacked SP for promoting the mafia. In turn, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav has accused the government of creating lawlessness.

Cornered from all sides, Atiq became desperate to retaliate or at least re-assert his clout as striking fear among the public made him a big-time don ruling the roost for the past four decades. The dimming of his aura was costing him hundreds of crores. Terror and violence were his modus operandi.

Crime is a one-way world, it is said, as there is rarely a way out. He began this journey at the age of 17 in 1979 when he was accused of a murder. It was soon time for him to es­tablish himself in the crime world. In 1985, he intercepted a four-wheeler of 1970s’ land mafia “Maula Bhukkhal” in broad daylight and challenged him. From then until the murder of Umesh Pal as recently as February 24, break­ing the law and challenging police was second nature to him. After challeng­ing “Maula Bhukkhal”, his ambition grew manifold and he came in contact with dreaded criminals Chand Baba, Jagga and Chamman. Old timers say that such was the terror of Chand Baba that even policemen used to deliber­ately feign ignorance of his presence whenever he passed by. Hurling crude bombs was not at all unusual for him.

Atiq was nothing more than a courtier. However, he had dif­ferent plans. He expressed his desire to contest the Assembly election of 1989, which did not go down well with Chand Baba who also jumped into the fray. Atiq also filed his nomination papers resulting in a dispute between the two. This resulted in a battle for supremacy.

After the vote, Chand Baba had gone to a dhaba where he was killed. Atiq’s name did not figure in the FIR even though everyone believed it was his handiwork. When the election results were out, Atiq Ahmed emerged the winner as an inde­pendent with over 25,000 votes while Shauk Ilahi alias Chand Baba stood in fourth position with over 9,000 votes.

The mix of politics and crime gave him the kick he needed, which ultimately made him a ruthless criminal and also led to his sense of immunity. After the murder of Chand Baba, his aide Jagga, annoyed with Atiq’s rise in the crime world, fled to Mumbai. Atiq cajoled and convinced Jagga to return, only to be killed by his henchmen.

The year 1989 was the first time when Atiq entered politics, a potent tool for criminals to safeguard their criminal interests, and more so in a state like UP at that time. From 1989 until 2004, Atiq remained MLA from Allahabad West. For three terms until 1996, he was elected as an independent MLA; in 1996 he jumped on the SP wagon and won only to part ways a few years later. He then joined Apna Dal (Kamerwadi), a party floated by Kurmi leader Sonelal Patel. He also became its state president from 1999 to 2003 and in between successfully contested as Apna Dal candidate from Allahabad West in 2002.

Atiq Ahmed turned out to be a ‘shifty’ politician as well. One who would join hands with any outfit if it suited his interests. As he joined SP in 1996, he was accused of launching an assault on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati in the infamous guest house episode in Lucknow. However, he also ditched SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, who made him an MP in 2004 from Phulpur, a seat which ironically was represented by In­dia’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, to vote against the Indo-US nuclear deal in Parliament in 2008.

Atiq’s cases included extortion, kidnapping and murder, lodged against him over four decades. However, he became re­ally infamous when he got BSP MLA Raju Pal killed in broad daylight in 2005. Pal, also a history sheeter, was killed after he defeated Atiq’s brother Ashraf in the 2003 Assembly polls.

No less than seven high court judges recused themselves from hearing Atiq Ahmed’s cases in a span of over two years. Then a bail petition was moved by the gangster before Justice Arvind Kumar Tripathi of Allahabad High Court.

Atiq had moved his plea and his lawyers were hopeful of bail. However, Justice Tripathi recused himself from the hearing. He mentioned in his remarks that the case was marked for Justice BN Shukla but came to his court by mistake. “Hence it should be listed before the appropriate court,” he said.

“However, what started as a mistake culminated in a series of recusals, with as many as seven high court judges abstaining from hearing Atiq’s bail plea during the next two years, such was his terror,” recalls a lawyer.

After Pal’s murder, Atiq’s career saw a downward trend as he lost all elections since. In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, he contested from Pratapgarh as the Apna Dal candidate and in 2014 he was again unsuccessful against Daddan Misra from Shravasti. In 2018, he came back to contest Phulpur Lok Sabha as an inde­pendent but lost. The last election he contested was in 2019 as an independent candidate from Varanasi.

At the receiving end both politically as well as in the crime world with Adityanath coming to power in 2017, Atiq was buying time, hoping to re-establish his supremacy and launch his son Asad.

It is believed that Atiq conspired from Sabarmati Jail to get Umesh Pal, a witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, killed on February 24. The killing was caught on CCTV camera which showed his son Asad, his aide Guddu Muslim, and others firing indiscriminately and hurling bombs at Umesh Pal and his two gunners.

THE NEWS HIT the headlines as it was a direct chal­lenge to Adityanath’s continuous efforts to improve the law and order situation. With around 180 criminals al­ready killed in the last five-plus years in police encounters, the response to the brazen shooting was keenly awaited.

Following the incident, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, dur­ing a heated exchange with Akhilesh Yadav on the floor of the House, had vowed: “Mafiaon ko mitti mein mila denge (The mafia will be reduced to dust)”.

A manhunt was launched to nab Pal’s killers. The first one Arbaz, the driver who drove the SUV with the criminals, was shot dead in a police encounter on February 27. On March 6, Vijay Chaudhary, rechristened by Atiq as Usman and the man who first shot at Umesh Pal, was killed in another police en­counter. However, on April 13, the police encountered Asad, Atiq’s son, and shooter Ghulam Mohammed and killed the two.

While he was on his way from Sabarmati Jail to Prayagraj, Atiq pleaded for mercy, telling the media, “Hum aapke jariye government se kehna chahte hain, bilkul mitti me mil gaye hain. Ab hamari auraton aur bachchon ko pareshan na karein. (I want to tell the government through you (the media) that I am totally re­duced to dust, but please don’t trouble the women and children of my family now.”

The next day, Atiq and Ashraf handcuffed together were coming out of Colvin Hospital after a medical examination when three assailants, later identified as Lavlesh Tiwari, Mohit Singh alias Shani, and Arun Kumar Maurya, shot them dead. The heavy police arrangement proved futile as the trio, imme­diately after firing several rounds, surrendered with TV cameras broadcasting live the incident.

The UP government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the killing of the two in police custody and has begun taking all the corrective measures to ensure peace prevails.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said crime in UP is at its peak and the morale of criminals is high. BSP chief Mayawati also ques­tioned the poor law and order situation. Adityanath immedi­ately swung into action and held a meeting with top police and home department officials.

Even as the judicial commission investigates to find the mas­termind, analysts believe Adityanath’s aggressive posturing on crime and criminals is well received as the memories of earlier lawlessness have not faded.

However, whether or not Adityanath’s zero tolerance for crime would once again help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the General Election is a matter of debate. Experts believe BJP is placed better in local elections with the improvement in law and order becoming a major issue.

On April 18, Adityanath said no ‘mafia’ could spread terror in UP any more and the government was capable of safeguarding the interests and capital of investors. “Every district is now safe, having its own identity and UP’s environment is ‘most favour­able’ to set up enterprises today,” the chief minister said. Atiq Ahmed’s long career in crime ended abruptly, with few shed­ding tears for the late and unlamented don. But then, criminals meet such a fate more often than not.

AshrafAtiq AhmedcrimemafiaPrayagrajUttar PradeshYogi Adityanath