Atiq Ahmed News: Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge is shattering Indian box office records and creating a massive storm. In just three days, the film has crossed ₹500 crore in worldwide gross collections. On its opening day, including premieres, it earned over ₹200 crore—a staggering start.
What makes it even more controversial—and a potential nightmare for political parties that have ruled certain states with the backing of strongmen—is its portrayal of figures who were once patronised and allowed to grow within the system, eventually rising from local power centres to state assemblies and even the Indian Parliament. The film further intensifies the debate by suggesting that some of these figures had links with hostile foreign agencies like Pakistan’s ISI.
“Dhurandhar 2” attempts to dramatise one of Uttar Pradesh’s most controversial figure—Atiq Ahmed—blending crime, politics, and spectacle into a high-voltage narrative, putting the party that once ruled the state and gave him tickets along with the Congress to the Assembly and Parliament under fire. The film shows Atiq Ahmed’s ISI connection and link with the Big Brother, Dawood Ibrahim.
Dhurandhar The Revenge: Who Was Atiq Ahmed?
The film shows a murder scene that looks very similar to how Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were killed in April 2023. But in the film, this incident is shown as part of a conspiracy involving National Security Advisor Ajay Sanyal. To understand the “heat” on the political establishment, one must first understand the shadow Atiq Ahmed cast over Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad). He was born in 1962 in a simple family in Prayagraj. Stepping into the world of crime at a young age, Atiq established himself as the most wanted mafia don in the 1980s-90s.
He entered the corridors of power, winning elections, shaping local equations, and becoming a figure who blurred the line between elected representative and mafia strongman. His journey reflected a deeper truth of Uttar Pradesh politics—where muscle often translated into mandate. More than 150 criminal cases were registered against him, including charges related to murder, kidnapping, extortion, land grabbing and terrorism.
In 2004, he was elected MP from Phulpur Lok Sabha seat on the Samajwadi Party ticket. Atiq had also become an MLA five times. Starting as a local coal thief in 1979, he rose to become a “Don”(a criminal-turned-politician).
He served as a five-time MLA and a one-time Member of Parliament (MP). It was already known that his political career allowed him to run a “parallel government” even from behind bars for years. For decades, he ran his empire with such impunity that even judges often recused themselves from hearing his cases out of fear.
His downfall began with the daylight murder of Umesh Pal in February 2023. Umesh was the key witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal—a case Atiq had allegedly orchestrated to maintain his political dominance. Atiq Ahmed’s wife Shaista Parveen, who had a a bounty of ₹50,000, escaped from Prayagraj during the Mahakumbh Mela 2025. The decline of mafia dominance, including that of Atiq, resulted from CM Yogi Adityanath’s stringent crackdown.
Dhurandhar The Revenge: Film and the Reality
The film depicts Atiq Ahmed procuring AK-47 rifles through Pakistan’s ISI, facilitated by Baloch mafia networks. Atiq Ahmed is also shown continuing to run his operations from inside prison. He is portrayed as being in contact with ISI officials and directing illegal activities, including drug smuggling through Nepal.
If we speak about the reality, Atiq Ahmed spent much of his time in different prisons, including Naini, Deoria, Banda, and Chitrakoot. It has to be noted that, In April 2013, while he was lodged in Deoria Jail, his associates abducted a Lucknow-based businessman, Mohit Jaiswal, and brought him into the prison.
Jaiswal was brutally assaulted, his fingers were fractured, and he was forced to transfer ownership of his company, MJ Infra, to Atiq’s associates Farooq and Zaki. The incident drew national attention, after which Atiq was shifted to Bareilly Jail in 2018 and later to Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat in 2019.
‘Dhurandhar’ portrays Atiq Ahmed as part of a vast counterfeit currency network linked to Dawood Ibrahim, suggesting that such operations contributed to the Indian government’s demonetisation decision in November 2016.
Why Samajwadi Party and Congress in the Crosshairs
The Congress and the Samajwadi Party have come under scrutiny following the film’s release, especially as ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ is performing far beyond expectations at the box office. The Samajwadi Party, which had given Atiq Ahmed tickets to both the Assembly and Parliament, has labelled the film as propaganda. An ally of the Congress-led UPA, the SP has pushed back against the narrative. Former SP MP Dr. S.T. Hasan said that no Indian investigative agency has confirmed such allegations, calling it an attempt to generate controversy for publicity.
The chargesheet against Atiq on different cases says that weapons were dropped by drones along the Punjab border and then passed on to Atiq’s network through local operatives. The same consignments were allegedly supplied to militants in Jammu and Kashmir. Atiq is also said to have pointed out possible locations where weapons could be recovered.
Based on these claims, the police registered an FIR citing arms allegedly supplied through ISI-linked channels, including AK-47 rifles, a .45 bore pistol, a sten gun, and even RDX. A .45 pistol was reportedly used in the Umesh Pal murder, and 58 Pakistan-made 9mm cartridges were recovered.
Brutal Murder of Umesh Pal in Broad Day Light
The Don’s decline started from the brutal broad light murder of Umesh Pal—the key witness in the killing of former BSP MLA Raju Pal—. In the chargesheet filed by the police in the murder case of Umesh Pal, Atiq Ahmed is said to have admitted links with Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, and Lashkar-e-Taiba. According to the document, his gang sourced weapons from across the border.
According to the police, Atiq’s network was involved in the illegal trade of counterfeit currency, arms, and drugs—activities linked to pro-Pakistan terror financing.
Notably, on the night of April 15, 2023, 15 days after filing the chargesheet, Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead while in police custody. The two were killed on camera by assailants posing as journalists in the brad day light, as they were being taken for a medical check-up.
