The whole country is watching Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed’s transfer from Sabarmati jail with bated breath. The convoy is now moving along the Bundelkhand expressway and is likely to reach Prayagraj by evening today. The convoy is being closely followed by media persons, his sister and lawyers.
“We do not know why the convoy was stopped. Prasashan par bharosa nahi hai (we don’t trust the administration), let’s see what happens next, hopefully everything will be alright,” said Atiq’s sister Ayesha Noori talking to the media.
“Of course we fear there could be an encounter. You must have heard the chief minister’s statement,” she added.
A few days back Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said that mafiya like Atiq Ahmed will be crushed in Uttar Pradesh.
There were a couple of hiccups on-route. While Atiq’s convoy colliding with a calf made news, the cavalcade halting for 20 minutes in Jhansi was seen with suspicion by Ahmed, who has been lodged in Sabarmati jail since 2019, is being taken to Prayagraj by UP police amid heavy security.
Ahmed is being taken to Prayagraj by UP Police ahead of his appearance in special court tomorrow in connection with a kidnapping case. Ahmed’s brother is being brought by police from Bareilly prison.
Atiq Ahmed is being brought to Prayagraj by a 45-member police team. The convoy has currently entered the Jhansi limits; they began their journey at 6 pm last evening. The convoy passed Rajasthan’s Kota late at night yesterday and halted at Tathed in Kota. The convoy had briefly stopped in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri as well.
Ahmed will be produced in court in Prayagraj, where he will be sentenced for his involvement in the Umesh Pal kidnapping case. The court is scheduled to pass an order on March 28.
Gujarat police had made an elaborate arrangement to bring the former Samajwadi Party MLA, who has been lodged at Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati jail since June 2019 following a Supreme Court order in April 2019.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ganganagar, Abhishek Bharti, led a team of 45 police personnel who have been tasked with bringing Atiq home safely.
The convoy, which will cover approximately a distance of 1274.9 kilometres by road, included six vehicles, including two Vajra vehicles and three four-wheelers.
Sources told The New Indian that the UP police Special Task Force (STF) had charted out two routes, one of which will be used to transfer Atiq.
While the UP police were completing the formalities, Atiq Ahmed refused to travel with the UP police. He requested to be sentenced via video conference. He cited once again that he fears for his life. He said that he fears that he will be eliminated either by a staged accident or an encounter.
Ahmed, a man with a chequered past, was allegedly involved in the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal, who was shot dead in 2005.
Most recently, Ahmed’s henchmen were also involved in the daylight murder of a key witness in the Raju Pal murder case, Umesh Pal. He was gunned down outside his residence in Prayagraj on February 24 of this year.
Earlier this month, Ahmed moved to the Supreme Court for protection. Ahmed claimed that he and his family have been falsely implicated in the Umesh Pal murder case. He also said that he fears that he may be killed in a fake encounter.
Once an all-powerful figure, Ahmed’s incarceration showcased the CM Yogi Adityanath’s commitment to a crime-free Uttar Pradesh.