Life imprisonment for UP gangster Atiq Ahmed and 2 others in kidnapping case

Prayagraj: Gangster Atiq Ahmed and two others were sentenced to life imprisonment after a Prayagraj court convicted them in the 2006 Umesh Paul kidnapping case.
In this case, 7 people have been acquitted, including Adeeq Ahmed’s brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf.

Former MP and MLA Ahmed, who is facing at least 100 criminal cases including murder and kidnapping, was brought from Gujarat jail to Prayagraj by the Uttar Pradesh police on Monday following a 24-hour road trip.

Footage from outside the court today showed a long police cavalcade escorting the politician-turned-mob in large vans as people lined both sides of the road.

Ahmed’s conviction comes a month after the sensational killing of Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal murder case.

On February 24 this year, Umesh Pal was shot dead while getting out of the back seat of a Hyundai Creta SUV in Prayagraj. Two police bodyguards accompanying him were also killed in the firing.

CCTV footage shows Umesh Paul and one of his two police bodyguards getting out of the SUV, when suddenly multiple gunmen came from behind and opened fire on him. Another person was seen using a crude bomb during the attack, which exploded in a cloud of smoke, causing panic and confusion on the road as people ran for safety. Many people abandoned their vehicles and ran towards the shops.

The UP police claimed that Atiq Ahmed was killed after naming Umesh Pal as the main culprit in the 2005 murder. In 2006, Umesh Paul alleged that he was abducted at gunpoint when he refused to retract his statement to the police.

The verdict in the 2006 kidnapping case has been delivered today in the Prayagraj court.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath even referred to his feud with his father over opposition leader Akhilesh Yadav, a day after February’s shooting incident in Prayagraj, following intense questions over the public killing of Umesh Paul.

“Isn’t it true that Atiq Ahmed, accused by the victim’s family, is part of the Samajwadi Party-raised mafia?” Yogi Adityanath pointed his finger at Mr. Yadav.

“Speaker, you are the godfather of all professional criminals and mafia.. crime is in their hands.. I say to this house that today we will drive this mafia to the ground” the chief minister again waved his finger. Mr Yadav said