The killing of Atiq Ahmed, a former mafia don turned politician, is considered one of Uttar Pradesh's most shocking incidents in recent years due to the immense power he wielded, especially in the eastern region of the state, even from prison.
Ahmed faced over 100 criminal cases, including murder and kidnapping, and was recently sentenced to life imprisonment in a kidnapping case. He was a five-term MLA and a former Lok Sabha MP for the Samajwadi Party.
Ahmed's criminal history dates back to 44 years ago in 1979 when he was accused of murder. He gained notoriety in the 90s and early 2000s, a time of political instability in Uttar Pradesh.
Ahmed reportedly became the leader of an extortion and land-grabbing syndicate in Prayagraj, then known as Allahabad, and other parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh, all while getting involved in politics.
He won the Allahabad West Constituency as an independent candidate in 1989 and later won the same seat under the banner of SP and Apna Dal. In 2004, he contested and won the Lok Sabha elections from the Phulpur seat, previously held by Jawahar Lal Nehru.
However, in 2005, Ahmed was accused of being the main culprit in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, a political rival. The following year, he was also accused of kidnapping Umesh Pal, the prime witness in the Raju Pal murder case.
In 2008, Ahmed surrendered to the UP police and was subsequently expelled from the Samajwadi Party. Despite being out on bail and not convicted in any case, he contested and lost both the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Ahmed was arrested in 2017 for an assault case and was later moved to the Sabarmati prison in Ahmedabad in 2019 on Supreme Court orders after being accused of masterminding a kidnapping while in jail.
According to UP minister Rajeshwar Singh, Ahmed faced 100 named FIRs and was facing 54 trials, with witnesses often turning hostile. Ahmed's gang had 144 members, and 10 High Court judges had recused themselves from hearing his cases. He also had assets worth ₹ 11,000 crore.
Ahmed's rise in crime and politics in UP was reminiscent of Mukhtar Ansari, another mafia don turned politician from eastern UP.
Ansari won his first MLA election in 1996 on a BSP ticket before switching parties for multiple MLA terms. Ansari and his family also faced multiple criminal cases, and the police say property or land worth over ₹ 200 crore was seized from the Mukhtar Ansari gang.
