Murdered in cold blood: 10 things to know about slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed

Ahmed's empire has come crashing down within 50 days of the murder of Umesh Pal

Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed's life met a tragic but swift end when he was gunned down in public in Parayagraj along with his brother Ashraf by three assailants posing as reporters.

Ironically, Atiq and his brother were being taken for a health check-up to Prayagraj's Calvin Hospital during the incident:

Days earlier (April 13) his son, Asad, 19, had also been killed in an encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force, along with his accomplice, Ghulam.

Here are 10 things you need to know about Atiq:

1. Beginnings in crime

During the 1990s and the early parts of the 2000s, Uttar Pradesh politics was going through a rather volatile time, with President's rule being imposed in the state on three separate occasions.

During this time, Ahmed began his criminal activities, according to a report published by The Hindu. The publication reports that Ahmed's crime syndicate carried out extortions and land grabbings during their initial days.

2. Entry into politics

Ahmed's first entry into politics was in 1989 when he contested the UP Assembly elections as an Independent candidate from the Allahabad West constituency. Ahmed went on to win the seat, and would continue to do the same in the 1991 and 1993 elections as well.

Read | Atiq Ahmed murder: What we know about the killers so far

In 1996, Ahmed contested the seat as a Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate, winning once again. The 2002 Assembly elections saw him win the seat once again, albeit as an Apna Dal candidate. Ahmed was made the Apna Dal president in 1999.

3. Foray into national politics

Ahmed entered the foray of national politics in 2004, when he was given a ticket by the Samajwadi Party to contest the general elections for the Phulpur seat, which he won with a 50,000-vote margin.

However, when he vacated the Allahabad West MLA seat, the ticket went to his brother, Ashraf (also known as Khalid Azim), who lost the election to BSP candidate Raju Pal.

4. Raju Pal murder

Ahmed's political career was struck by the murder of Raju Pal in 2005 when he, along with his brother Ashraf and seven others, were named as suspects in the FIR. Due to the Allahabad West seat falling vacant with Raju Pal's murder, Ashraf contested the seat once again in the bypolls and defeated the former's wife, Puja, with a margin of over 11,000 votes.

5. Umesh Pal lodges complaint against Ahmed and his associates

Umesh Pal, who was the chief witness in the Raju Pal murder case, lodged a police complaint in 2006 wherein he claimed that he was abducted by Atiq Ahmed and co. and forced to give a statement in court that would help swing the case in Ahmed's favour.

With mounting political pressure, Ahmed had to quit his membership of the Parliament and surrender in 2008. In the same year, he was also expelled from the Samajwadi Party.

6. Political downfall

After his surrender in 2008, Ahmed's political career suffered a huge setback. He was given a ticket by the SP to contest the 2014 LS elections from the Shravasti constituency, but he suffered a defeat by close to one lakh votes.

Read | Playing with rule of law for political purpose not right for democracy: Priyanka after Atiq's killing

In 2017, Ahmed was nabbed in an assault case. Two years later, in June 2019, he was accused of planning the kidnapping of Mohit Jaiswal, a businessman, while in a UP prison. Following this, Ahmed was transferred to Gujarat's Sabarmati Central Jail.

7. 2019 LS elections

Ahmed, despite being in jail, did not lose his political aspirations and again contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, this time as an independent candidate.

However, he contested from Varanasi, the same seat from which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has himself won his seat in the Parliament. Ahmed managed to amass only 855 votes in the said election.

8. Umesh Pal murder

The key witness in Raju Pal's murder case, Umesh Pal, along with Sandeep Nishad, his police security guard, was murdered at Pal's home in Dhoomanganj of Prayagraj on Februrary 24.

Following this, Pal's wife, Jaya, lodged a complaint with the Dhoomanganj police against Atiq, Ashraf, Atiq's wife Shaista Parveen, their two sons, aides Ghulam and Guddu Muslim, and nine other individuals. Soon, two of the people named in the case, Usman and Arbaaz, met their end in separate police encounters.

9. Atiq's sentencing and his son's death

After being shifted to Naini Central Jail on March 27, Ahmed was sentenced to life inprisonment by an MP/MLA court for kidnapping Umesh Pal in 2006.

Read | Playing with rule of law for political purpose not right for democracy: Priyanka after Atiq's killing

His son, Asad, along with an associate, Ghulam, was gunned down by the UP Police's STF in an encounter on April 13.

10. Ahmed meets his end

On April 15, Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were gunned down by assailants who have been arrested and identified the police. Following his murder, 17 cops in charge of his security have been suspended and a political hailstorm has gripped national politics.

A number of Opposition leaders have accused the BJP government of lawlessness in the state.