From: lessgovt@gmail.com   
      
   Atiq Ahmed (1962 – 15 April 2023) was an Indian gangster turned politician.   
   He served as a member of the Indian Parliament and the Uttar Pradesh   
   Legislative Assembly from the Samajwadi Party. Ahmed had more than 160   
   criminal cases registered against    
   him, and he competed in several elections from jail. As of March 2023, the   
   Uttar Pradesh Police had seized properties worth $1.5 billion belonging to   
   Ahmed and his family. In 2019, he was convicted of kidnapping a witness who   
   testified against him    
   regarding the 2005 murder of his political rival Raju Pal. Ahmed remained in   
   jail until his assassination by gunmen on his way to a court-mandated medical   
   checkup on 15 April 2023.   
      
   Early and personal life   
   Atiq Ahmed was born in 1962 to a poor family. His father was a horse-cart   
   driver in Allahabad.   
      
   Ahmed was married to Shaista Praveen. The couple had five sons. Ahmed's   
   brother Khalid Azim (alias Ashraf) was also an ex-MLA from the Samajwadi Party.   
      
   Political career   
   Entry into politics   
   Ahmed entered politics in 1989 when he won a MLA seat in Allahabad West as an   
   independent candidate. He retained his seat in the 1991 and 1993 Uttar Pradesh   
   assembly elections, and then won the seat in 1996 as a Samajwadi Party (SP)   
   member.   
      
   As a member of Lok Sabha   
   In 1999, he left the SP and became the president of Apna Dal (Kamerawadi),   
   winning the Allahabad West seat in 2002 . He rejoined the SP in 2003. In 2004,   
   Ahmed was elected as the Lok Sabha Member of Parliament for Phulpur, after   
   which he resigned from    
   his MLA seat in Allahabad.   
      
   In 2007, he was expelled from SP after he provided protection to men with   
   allegations of rape in a Madrasa and the massive outcry caused by the event.   
      
   In the 2009 Indian general elections, Atiq Ahmed was allowed to run for   
   election, since he was yet to be convicted in any criminal case. However, the   
   Samajwadi Party expelled him in the year 2008, and Mayawati refused him a   
   ticket under BSP. Later, he    
   contested elections as a candidate for the Apna Dal party in Pratapgarh, only   
   to lose the election.   
      
   Participation from prison   
   Ahmed contested the 2012 Uttar Pradesh elections under the Apna Dal banner for   
   the Allahabad (West) constituency. He filed his nomination from jail. He   
   appealed for bail in the Allahabad High Court, but ten judges refused to hear   
   the case. The 11th judge    
   finally took up the matter and he was released on bail before the elections.   
   However, the seat went to Raju Pal's widow, Puja Pal.   
      
   In 2014, he was taken back into the Samajwadi Party and fought the national   
   elections for the Shrawasti constituency. He secured a quarter of the votes   
   but lost by nearly 100,000 votes to Daddan Mishra of the BJP.   
      
   Electoral history   
   Ahmed has been elected as 5 times MLA and 1 time Lok Sabha MP.   
      
   #	From	To	Position	Party   
   1.	1989	1991	MLA (1st term) from Allahabad West	IND   
   2.	1991	1993	MLA (2nd term) from Allahabad West	IND   
   3.	1993	1996	MLA (3rd term) from Allahabad West	IND   
   4.	1996	2002	MLA (4th term) from Allahabad West	SP   
   5.	2002	2004	MLA (5th term) from Allahabad West	Apna Dal   
   6.	2004	2009	MP (1st term) in 14th Lok Sabha from Phulpur	SP   
      
   Criminal cases   
   Introduction to crime   
   Ahmed entered the world of crime by stealing coal from trains and selling it   
   for profit. This later transformed into threatening contractors for obtaining   
   government tenders for railway scrap metal. His first criminal record was in   
   1979, when he was    
   accused of murder in Allahabad. This is where he built his crime network. He   
   also became the first person to be booked under the Gangster Act in Uttar   
   Pradesh.   
      
   In his early days, Ahmed worked closely with other notorious members of the   
   mafia in Allahabad namely Chand Baba. After the encounter of his biggest   
   competitor Shaukat Ilahi in 1990, Ahmed became very powerful and became known   
   for extortion, kidnapping    
   and murder.   
      
   Raju Pal murder   
   In 2004, Ahmed vacated the Allahabad West MLA seat in order to serve as an MP   
   from Phulpur as a member of SP. In his place, his younger brother Khalid Azim   
   contested the by-elections and lost to a BSP candidate, Raju Pal. In 2005,   
   Raju Pal was shot dead    
   and Khalid Azim was able to win the next by-elections and obtain the MLA seat.   
      
   Ahmed was named and arrested as the main accused in this case but later   
   received bail. Ahmed was able to hold his power in the underworld even from   
   inside the prison.   
      
   After Mayawati gained power as the Chief Minister in the state, she mounted   
   pressure against him. He surrendered and was arrested in 2008.   
      
   SHUATS assault case   
   On Dec 14, 2016, staff members of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture,   
   Technology and Sciences were allegedly assaulted by Ahmed and his associates   
   for taking action against two students who were barred from taking   
   examinations after they were    
   caught cheating. The video of Ahmed beating the SHUATS teacher and employees   
   was widely circulated on the internet. Ahmed was arrested the following day.   
   On Feb 10, 2017, the Allahabad High Court summoned the criminal history of   
   Ahmed and also directed    
   the Superintendent of Police of Allahabad to arrest all the accused in the   
   case. The police arrested Ahmed on Feb 11 after which he was remanded to   
   14-day judicial custody.   
      
   Umesh Pal abduction and murder   
   In 2019, Ahmed was convicted of the kidnapping of Umesh Pal, a key witness who   
   testified against Ahmed in the Raju Pal murder case. On 24 Feb 2023, Umesh Pal   
   was killed during a shooting and bomb attack. Ahmed was the main suspect   
   accused in this murder    
   case. Ahmed's brother Ashraf, son Asad, and associate Guddu Muslim, a bomb   
   maker who allegedly threw the bomb at Umesh Pal and has been involved in   
   previous violent crimes, were the co-accused.   
      
   Ahmed was shifted from the Prayagraj Central Jail to the Sabarmati Jail in   
   Ahmedabad in June 2019.   
      
   Death   
   On 13 April 2023, Ahmed's son, Asad, who was wanted in the Umesh Pal murder   
   case, was killed in an encounter during action in Jhansi by the Uttar Pradesh   
   Police's Special Task Force (STF).   
      
      
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