In Uttar Pradesh, Atiq Ahmed was the kingpin of extortion and land-grabbing syndicate, which had its roots all over India. He had over 100 FIRs filed against him for various criminal offences.
When the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by the Congress was in power at the Centre in 2007, mafia Atiq Ahmed unlawfully grasped the property belonging to a Gandhi family relative named Veera Gandhi in Prayagraj.
Veera Gandhi was the wife of the nephew of Sonia Gandhi’s father-in-law and Rajiv Gandhi’s father, Feroze Gandhi’s brother-in-law. At that time, Samajwadi Party was the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh, and Ahmed was the party’s leader and a Member of Parliament from the Phulpur constituency, which gave him political protection and audacity to commit crimes.
As per the reports, Ahmed has had his eye on Veera Gandhi’s family’s Palace Theatre property in Prayagraj’s upscale Civil Lines area for quite some time. In a methodological way, he first purchased the neighbouring property from one Asthana family. On his orders, his goons then unlawfully grasped the Gandhi family home and installed their locks on the gates. During the division of family assets, Veera Gandhi is claimed to have received this property behind the Palace Theatre.
At the time, Atiq Ahmed’s reign of terror was so severe that even local police and State Government officials refused to interfere or help Veera Gandhi. She eventually shared her ordeal with Sonia Gandhi, who told then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about this incident.
The PMO acted quickly, issuing orders to the top authorities in the State to resolve the issue. Also, Sonia Gandhi spoke to Rita Bahuguna Joshi and delegated the problem to her. At that time, she was an MP and a prominent Congress politician.
After realising that his actions had outraged Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister’s Office, Atiq Ahmed decided to leave the property and return it to its rightful owners.
After that, Veera Gandhi sold many of her assets in Prayagraj and relocated to Mumbai.
Recently, Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead by three assailants dressed as journalists.
