Atiq Ahmad, 2 others get life termin 2006 Umesh Pal kidnapping case
| Date :29-Mar-2023 |
PRAYAGRAJ (UP),
AN MP-MLA court here on Tuesday held gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad and two others guilty in the 2006 Umesh Pal kidnapping case, and sentenced them to rigorous life imprisonment. Ahmad’s brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf and six others have been acquitted in the case. This is Ahmad’s first conviction in over 100 cases registered against him over the years. Government counsel Gulab Chandra Agrahari said special MP-MLA court judge Dinesh Chandra Shukla held Ahmad, Saulat Hanif, a lawyer, and Dinesh Pasi guilty under Indian Penal Code section 364-A (kidnapping or abduction in order to murder). ‘The court has awarded the three rigorous life imprisonment and Rs 1 lakh fine to each,’ Agrahari said, adding that the amount will be given to the family of Umesh Pal, who was gunned down last month. The two brothers are also accused in the murder case. After undergoing court formalities, Atiq Ahmad and others were taken back to Naini jail in separate police vans. Atiq Ahmad will be taken back to Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat, a senior prison official said.
In a reply to queries by mediapersons, Ahmad said from inside the police van, ‘I have respect for the court...This is wrong punishment (saja galat hui hai)... I will move the High Court against it.’ Earlier, when Ahmad and Ashraf were produced in the court, a number of lawyers raised slogans of ‘phansi do’ (give them capital punishment). Ahmad’s counsel Dayashankar Mishra said they have the right to appeal and they will approach the High court against the conviction. He said Ahmad will be kept in Sabarmati Jail (Ahmedabad) in accordance with the Supreme Court’s decision.
In her reaction to the judgement, Umesh Pal’s mother Shanti Devi said she has full faith in the country’s judiciary, but expressed apprehension Ahmad ‘could do anything from inside the jail’. The kidnapping case against Ahmad, Ashraf and nine others emanates from the murder of then BSP MLA Raju Pal on January 25, 2005. Umesh Pal, who was then a zila panchayat member, had told the police that he was a witness to the murder. Pal later alleged that he was kidnapped at gunpoint on February 28, 2006 as he refused to retract under pressure from Ahmad. Police cavalcade with Atiq leaves for Gujarat jail: A POLICE cavalcade carrying gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad left for the Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat Tuesday evening, hours after he was sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment in a 2006 kidnapping case by a court in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, a senior official said.
Ahmad was brought from the Sabarmati Central Jail by road for the hearing in the MP-MLA court here. He was kept at the Naini Central Jail in Prayagraj before the hearing. “As per the orders of the honourable court, Atiq Ahmad has left for Sabarmati Central Jail,” Naini Jail Senior Superintendent Shashikant told PTI. When asked about Ahmad’s brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, who was acquitted in the case, Shashikant said he has “left for Bareilly”. Ashraf, lodged in the Bareilly District Jail since July 2020, was brought to the Naini Central Jail on Monday evening amid tight security arrangements for his production in the court.