Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad's son Asad killed in UP Police encounter

Asad Ahmad had a Rs 5 lakh bounty on his head. Another accused Ghulam was killed in the encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force, too.
Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad (right) & his son Asad (left). (Photos | PTI)
Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad (right) & his son Asad (left). (Photos | PTI)

Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad’s third son Asad Ahmad, who was wanted in witness Umesh Pal's murder case, has been killed in an encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) in Jhansi. Asad's close aide and co-accused Ghulam was killed in the encounter as well. 

The encounter took place in the forest area of Jhansi-Babina road on Thursday.

Some sophisticated foreign-made weapons were recovered from them, said UP STF ADG Amitabh Yash.

Asad and Ghulam both had a Rs 5 lakh bounty on their heads.

Media reports say that the marriage of Asad was fixed with Atiq's sister Ayesha Noori's daughter. The two had gotten engaged last year. 

Asad's killing in the encounter comes a day after Atiq Ahmad was brought from Ahmedabad's Sabarmati Jail to the CJM court in Prayagraj while his brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf was brought from Bareilly Jail in connection with the case. The Prayagraj police have been seeking police remand of Atiq and Ashraf in connection with Umesh's murder. 

Atiq Ahmad’s third son Asad Ahmad.
Atiq Ahmad’s third son Asad Ahmad.

Atiq’s wife Shaista Parveen, carrying a reward of Rs 50,000, is also one of the main accused in the case.

Atiq’s two elder sons — Ali and Umer – are presently in Nani Central Jail in Prayagraj and Lucknow Jail respectively in connection with criminal activities. Two other younger sons are twins and have been in a juvenile home in Prayagraj since Umesh's murder.

Atiq Ahmad on Wednesday claimed he was being harassed in the Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat. He also claimed that his family was ruined. When reporters told him that the government has said he will be decimated, Ahmad claimed, "They have already decimated me. I am also being harassed in the Sabarmati jail."

WATCH |

Lawyer Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 murder case of BSP MLA Raju Pal, and his two police security guards Sandeep Nishad and Raghvendra Singh were shot dead outside his home in Prayagraj's Dhoomanganj area on February 24 this year.

It may be recalled that a day after Umesh Pal’s murder, UP CM Yogi Adityanath had claimed in the Assembly that his government would decimate Umesh Pal’s killers and many others who had been running crime syndicates in UP.

As per local sources, on getting the news of his son’s killing, Atiq started crying loudly in the courtroom. Asad’s killing has come as a huge personal blow to the gangster-turned-politician who had been running a crime syndicate in Prayagraj and adjoining districts for the last three decades.

Ghulam,  who was Asad's close aide and co-accused in Umesh Pal's murder case.
Ghulam,  who was Asad's close aide and co-accused in Umesh Pal's murder case.

On March 28, the court there had sentenced Ahmad and two others to life imprisonment in the 2006 Umesh Pal kidnapping case while Atiq's brother Ashraf and six others were acquitted by the court.

Notably, the video footage released by UP Police after the murder of Umesh and his two police guards clearly shows Asad and Ghulam opening fire at the victim in front of his residence.

Based on a complaint lodged by Umesh Pal's wife Jaya Pal, a case was registered on February 25 against Atiq Ahmad, his wife Shaista Parveen, Atiq's brother Ashraf, Atiq's two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Ghulam, and nine others.

The FIR was lodged under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons), 149 (unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

Ahmad is also an accused in the 2005 Raju Pal murder case.

On April 2, UP STF arrested Akhlaq Ahmad, a government doctor and the husband of Ayesha Noori. 

Atiq's brother-in-law Akhlaq, posted at the Abdullapur Community Health Centre, had not only provided shelter to the killers of Umesh Pal but also money when they reached Meerut after the murder, sources said. 

This is Atiq Ahmad's first conviction even though more than 100 cases were registered against the former Samajwadi Party MP over the years.

(With PTI inputs)

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