Atiq Ahmed to be taken back to Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat

Prayagraj: Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed, who was sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment in the 2006 Umesh Pal kidnapping case by a court in Prayagraj on Tuesday, will be taken back to Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat, a senior prison official said.

Ahmad was brought from Sabarmati Jail by road for the hearing in an 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 will be taken back to Sabarmati Central Jail," Naini Jail Senior Superintendent Shashikant told PTI.

A former Samajwadi Party MP from Phulpur, Ahmad was shifted to Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat in June 2019 following a Supreme Court order after he was accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and assault of real estate businessman Mohit Jaiswal from a prison in Uttar Pradesh.

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.

Tuesday's conviction of Ahmad was his first in over 100 cases registered against him over the years.

The special MP-MLA court judge Dinesh Chandra Shukla held Ahmad, Saulat Hanif, a lawyer, and Dinesh Pasi guilty under IPC 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," Government counsel Gulab Chandra Agrahari said.

The amount will be given to the family of Umesh Pal, a witness in the 2006 BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case who was gunned down last month. Ahmad and his brother Ashraf are also accused in the murder case.