Yogi's Crackdown On Organised Crime: House Of Atique Ahmed's Close Aide Razed; Strongman Approaches SC Citing Vikas Dubey Case

In a crackdown on associates of gangster Atique Ahmed named in the sensational Umesh Pal murder case, the Prayagraj Development Authority on Wednesday demolished the house of a close aide of Ahmed.

Prayagraj Development Authority secretary Ajit Singh said the house belonging to Zafar Ahmed has been bulldozed. He said Atiq's wife Shaista Parveen used to stay in the same house earlier.

Umesh Pal, the prime witness in the 2005 murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal, was shot dead outside his residence in Prayagraj on 24 February. An FIR was registered on 25 February against several people, including former MP Atique Ahmed.

The mafia-turned-politician is currently lodged in Sabarmati jail, in Gujarat. Ahmed was an SP MP from Phulpur parliamentary constituency (in Prayagraj), besides being an MLA in the past on an SP ticket.

Arbaaz, an accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, was killed in an encounter with the police on 27 February. Dhoomanganj police station SHO Rajesh Maurya was also injured in the encounter.

Ahmed pleads to Supreme Court

Meanwhile, a petition was filed on behalf of Ahmed in the Supreme Court today. In this, Ahmed has pleaded that life is in danger and his custody not be given to the UP police. If the UP police seeks to question him regarding the Umesh Pal murder case, the same should be done in the Sabarmati jail itself.

Ahmed has cited Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath's recent statement in the state assembly wherein he said that: "maafiya ko mitti mein mila denge" (We will raze the mafias to the ground).

Ahmed has also cited the Vikas Dubey case in his plea to highlight the threat to his life. Mafia Vikas Dubey had died in a police encounter in Uttar Pradesh in July 2020 while he was being transported from Ujjain to Kanpur after his vehicle had allegedly overturned and Dubey had tried to make an escape.