UP Police reach Gujarat's Sabarmati jail to bring back Atiq Ahmed

A team of Uttar Pradesh Police on Sunday reached Gujarat's Sabarmati Central Jail for mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, who has been lodged there since June 2019. Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma said that a UP court has fixed March 28 as the date for delivering a verdict in an old kidnapping case in which Atiq Ahmed is also among the accused.

"The court has fixed March 28 as the date for pronouncing the verdict in an old kidnapping case...all the accused have to be produced before the Court in this matter. To produce Mafia Atiq Ahmed before the court, an accused in this case. A police team has been sent to Sabarmati jail," the commissioner said in a video shared by ANI.

Ahmed, a dreaded gangster, was recently booked again in connection with the killing of Umesh Pal, a prime witness in the 2005 Raju Pal murder case in which he is also an accused. Ahmed's wife and two sons were also booked in connection with the case. Umesh Pal was shot dead near his residence in Prayagraj on February 24. Just a day after the incident, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath vowed to finish off criminals like Atiq Ahmed.  

Earlier this month, Ahmed moved the Supreme Court for protection, claiming he and his family have been falsely "roped in" as accused in the Umesh Pal murder case and the Uttar Pradesh police may kill him in a fake encounter. In his plea, Ahmed claimed the UP Police were likely to seek his transit remand to take him from Ahmedabad to Prayagraj and he "genuinely apprehends that he may be eliminated during this transit period".

Ahmed has been put in Sabarmati jail since June 2019, after the Supreme Court directed the police to shift him to a high-security jail in Gujarat after he was accused of being the key mastermind in the kidnapping and assault of a businessman while in jail.

Also Read: 'Mitti me mila denge': Yogi's furious speech after prime witness killed in a case involving Atiq Ahmed