After a day of high drama, the police convoy carrying the Samajwadi Party leader and Mafia leader Atiq Ahmed entered Uttar Pradesh on Monday morning, a day after it started from the Sabarmati Central Jail.
The Uttar Pradesh police convoy reached the state, after crossing Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh and the Kota hanging bridge in Rajasthan late last night, reported ANI. Ahmed, who is being moved to the Prayagraj jail, will be produced before the Prayagraj court on Tuesday in connection with a kidnapping case.
An accused in over 100 criminal cases, Atiq Ahmed headed the 'Inter-state Gang 227' before ending up in jail. This was after the Supreme Court order over his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and assault of a businessman Mohit Jaiswal.
But, he is currently in UP in connection with a kidnapping case filed against him in 2007 by Umesh Pal, a witness in the former BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case. Umesh Pal, who was later murdered, was allegedly abducted and harassed by Ahmed’s men. Ahmed is the accused in both Raju Pal and Umesh Pal murder case. While Raju pal was shot dead in 2005, Umesh Pal was gunned down outside his residence in Prayagraj on February 24 this year.
"A court in Prayagraj has set March 28 as the date to pass its order in a kidnapping case in which Ahmed is an accused," Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma said in the Uttar Pradesh city. "As part of the procedure, all the accused are to be produced before the court on the date of the judgment and then sent back to their respective jails," the police officer said. On arrival at Prayagraj prison, Ahmed will be kept in isolation in a high-security barracks. He will be monitored throughout using CCTV cameras.
"Jail staff (for Ahmed) will be chosen and deployed on the basis of their records. They will have body-worn cameras. Prayagraj jail office and jail headquarters will monitor him round the clock through a video wall. DIG, Jail HQ, is being sent to ensure all the arrangements at Prayagraj jail," his statement read.
'They want to kill me'
While the Uttar Pradesh Police was getting ready to move him to Prayagraj, Ahmed stoked controversy by claiming that there were plans to murder him through a fake encounter. He alleged that his appearance in a Prayagraj court was just a pretext for the police to kill him.
Prayagraj Police vans at Sabarmati Central Jail for shifting of jailed-mafia Atiq Ahmed from the prison to Prayagraj, in Ahmedabad | PTI
"Hatya, hatya (murder, murder)," Ahmed told reporters outside the prison .
When asked him if he feared for his life, the former Samajwadi Party MP said, "Mujhe inka programme maloom hai…Hatya karna chahte hain (I know their programme…They want to murder me)."
"Court ke kandhe pe rakh ke maarna chahte hain (They want to kill me under the pretext of court appearance)," he added.
Close associate injured
A close associate of Atiq Ahmed was injured in an encounter with the police on Sunday. The accused, carrying a reward of Rs 25,000, sustained injury on his right leg in the crossfire.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajesh Kumar Singh said, acting on a tip-off, local police and SWAT team surrounded Mohammad Zarar Ahmed (44) near a mausoleum at around 4.45 am on Sunday. When the police challenged him, Ahmed fired at the police. In retaliatory firing, he sustained an injury on his right leg. Subsequently, he was arrested, and admitted to a hospital for treatment, he said.
