On Tuesday in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, a man named Varun, purportedly a lawyer, stood outside the MP/MLA court for hours holding a garland made of shoes, waiting to “greet” the notorious politician-gangster Atiq Ahmad. Ahmad was eventually found guilty of kidnapping lawyer Umesh Pal in 2006 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
The man stated that the shoes comprising the garland were once owned by the now-deceased lawyer, who also acted as the key witness in the murder case of Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal, but was subsequently shot outside of his home.
“If I make Atiq Ahmed wear a garland of footwear, the Pal community and lawyer community will be happy. He killed a member of the lawyer community, they will be happy he has come to hear his sentencing by wearing a garland of shoes. These are the footwear of family members of Umesh Pal and Raju Pal.”
#WATCH | UP: A man, Varun stands outside Prayagraj MP-MLA Court, carrying a garland of footwear. He says, "If I make Atiq Ahmed wear a garland of footwear, the Pal community and the entire lawyer community will be happy. He killed a member of the lawyer community, they will be… pic.twitter.com/qFQEEqq39B
— ANI (@ANI) March 28, 2023
On Monday, Atiq Ahmed, a former gangster-turned-politician, was transferred to the Naini Central Jail in Prayagraj. He was produced before the court on Tuesday for the verdict in the 2007 kidnapping case of Umesh Pal, a crucial witness in the 2005 Raju Pal murder, in which Ahmed was also a prime suspect.
The family of Umesh Pal demands the death penalty for Atiq Ahmed
The family of Umesh Pal, the lawyer who was abducted and killed, on Tuesday, said that they want the mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, a prime accused in the case to be given the death sentence stating that they want his “empire of terror to end”.
“…We don’t have the strength to fight a case in the time to come. He (Atiq Ahmed) should be sentenced to death by hanging. If he is sentenced to life imprisonment, he can do anything from jail. He got my son killed from jail. He won’t let us live if he remains there…” Umesh Pal’s mother Shanti Devi told ANI ahead of a hearing of the case in Prayagraj court Umesh Pal’s widow Jaya Pal said, “I hope the court sentences him to death by hanging. If he lives, perhaps we won’t be able to live. Maybe it would be us next. If he is gone only then will terror be gone…”
“I want Atiq Ahmed’s empire to end, I don’t want him to be alive. I urge the court to give him a death sentence,” she said.
Atiq Ahmed, a former gangster who turned to politics, held the position of MLA for Allahabad West from 1989 to 2004. He also served as a Lok Sabha MP representing the Phulpur constituency in Uttar Pradesh from 2004 to 2009.
Atiq Ahmed, who was born on August 10, 1962, has been named in more than 100 cases. His brother Ashraf has 52 cases against him, while his wife Shaista Praveen and sons Ali and Umar Ahmad have three, four, and one case, respectively, against them.
