Allahabad High Court has rejected Atiq Ahmed’s son Ali Ahmed’s bail application in a 2021 extortion case, observing that “such a criminal” on bail poses a threat “not only to the witnesses but also a constant threat to society.”
Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh observed that the accused-applicant Ali Ahmed is the son of dreaded criminal and former Samajwadi Party MP Atiq Ahmed, with cases registered against him. He was booked for an attempt to murder in the 2021 extortion case. The Court also observed that the accused-applicant’s name surfaced in the Umesh Pal murder case. Umesh Pal was the prime witness in BSP MLA Raju Pal’s murder case; however, he was gunned down outside his residence in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on February 24.
The Court observed, “Accused-applicant is the son of one of the most dreaded criminals, Bahubali and Mafia Don, Atique Ahmad, who has to his credit more than a hundred criminal cases of murder, abduction, extortion, ransom, property grabbing and other heinous offences. The accused applicant himself to his credit has other cases registered against him.”
The Court added, “Recently, name of the accused applicant has also got figured in a most daring and gruesome murder of Umesh Pal, star witness in the case of murder of sitting Member of Legislative Assembly, Raju Pal allegedly by his father and other accused in a broad daylight where Raju Pal, sitting Member of Legislative Assembly and three more persons were killed by firing at them several gunshots from automatic weapons.”
The Court observed that the accused-applicant is a mafia don in the making and stated, “The accused applicant is Mafia Don himself in making, his role has figured in commission of the offence of murder of Umesh Pal, star witness in the murder case of Raju Pal, sitting Member of Legislative Assembly, which has been expedited by the Supreme Court. Such a criminal if comes out from jail on bail, would be a threat not only to the witnesses, but also constant threat to the society.”
Earlier, on March 1, the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) demolished the house of the infamous gangster and former Samajwadi Party (SP) Member of Parliament (MP) Atiq Ahmed’s aide. Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf are also accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, allegedly hatched Umesh Pal’s murder inside Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail where he is lodged.
On February 27, UP Police eliminated Arbaaz for his alleged role in the Umesh Pal murder case in an encounter at Nehru Park, Prayagraj. He had a Rs 50,000/- bounty for his arrest. UP Police eliminated him after he tried to flee and later recovered a pistol from him. ADG law and order Prashant Kumar said, “Accused Arbaaz was shot during the encounter that took place near Nehru Park in Dhoomanganj, Prayagraj earlier today. He was driving the car that was used in the murder (of Umesh Pal) and was fired upon.”
UP Police procured the CCTV footage of Umesh Pal’s murder, which revealed that the assailants drove in a Creta car. Prayagraj Commissioner of Police Ramit Sharma said that Arbaaz drove the vehicle to the spot for Umesh Pal’s murder. Meanwhile, UP Police’s Special Task Force (STF) has arrested another accused, Sadaqat Khan, who has been sent to 14-day judicial custody.
Atiq Khan’s brother, and a former MLA, Ashraf, has appealed to a court against being transferred out of jail in UP’s Bareilly, expressing fear of being killed if moved out of jail.
