[ad_1]
LUCKNOW/JHANSI: A six-vehicle convoy ferrying gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed from Gujarat’s Sabarmati prison to Prayagraj arrived at Naini jail around 5.30pm Monday, traversing 1,300km in 24 hours to complete a mission assigned by a special court that will pronounce its verdict on Tuesday in the 2007 Umesh Pal kidnapping case against him and his brother.
The overnight road trip that had started with Atiq twice screaming “hatya (murder)” turned out to be an eventful one, going by how the former SP legislator with over 100 criminal cases against him relieved himself in front of TV cameras following the convoy and threw one-liners whenever he was asked how the journey was going. “Kahe ka dar (what fear)?” Atiq said during one pit stop where reporters tailing the convoy got close enough to ask him whether he was still “feeling afraid”.
Atiq’s sister Ayesha Noori followed the convoy throughout the journey, interacting with journalists along the way. Noori said her brother “isn’t well” and that she feared he would fall victim to “an encounter”, especially after CM Yogi Adityanath’s statement in the assembly recently that the “mafia” would be strongly dealt with. She also denied Atiq was a criminal. His brother and co-accused Khalid Azim, alias Ashraf, was also brought to Prayagraj from Bareilly jail under tight security.
Atiq has been an MLA for five terms and an MP once. The convoy carrying him, comprising 23 armed cops that included an IPS officer, stopped for refreshments at the Jhansi police lines for around 45 minutes. Atiq refused to eat anything, sources said.
Along the way, the van carrying him hit a cow that darted towards it in MP’s Shivpuri. A video of the accident also went viral. The incident led to a forced break of about 15 minutes. UP Police had deployed teams of 25 cops at each toll plaza that the convoy crossed within the state.
Atiq and his brother stand accused of ordering the kidnapping of zila panchayat member Umesh Pal after he emerged as a witness to the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005. Umesh and two cops were killed in a shootout in Prayagraj on February 24 this year.
The overnight road trip that had started with Atiq twice screaming “hatya (murder)” turned out to be an eventful one, going by how the former SP legislator with over 100 criminal cases against him relieved himself in front of TV cameras following the convoy and threw one-liners whenever he was asked how the journey was going. “Kahe ka dar (what fear)?” Atiq said during one pit stop where reporters tailing the convoy got close enough to ask him whether he was still “feeling afraid”.
Atiq’s sister Ayesha Noori followed the convoy throughout the journey, interacting with journalists along the way. Noori said her brother “isn’t well” and that she feared he would fall victim to “an encounter”, especially after CM Yogi Adityanath’s statement in the assembly recently that the “mafia” would be strongly dealt with. She also denied Atiq was a criminal. His brother and co-accused Khalid Azim, alias Ashraf, was also brought to Prayagraj from Bareilly jail under tight security.
Atiq has been an MLA for five terms and an MP once. The convoy carrying him, comprising 23 armed cops that included an IPS officer, stopped for refreshments at the Jhansi police lines for around 45 minutes. Atiq refused to eat anything, sources said.
Along the way, the van carrying him hit a cow that darted towards it in MP’s Shivpuri. A video of the accident also went viral. The incident led to a forced break of about 15 minutes. UP Police had deployed teams of 25 cops at each toll plaza that the convoy crossed within the state.
Atiq and his brother stand accused of ordering the kidnapping of zila panchayat member Umesh Pal after he emerged as a witness to the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005. Umesh and two cops were killed in a shootout in Prayagraj on February 24 this year.
[ad_2]
Source link