Ahmad gets life term in 2006 kidnapping case
Prayagraj, March 28
A court here on Tuesday held gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad and two others guilty in the 2006 Umesh Pal kidnapping case and sentenced them to rigorous life imprisonment. Ahmad’s brother Khalid Azim, alias Ashraf, and six others have been acquitted.
Victim killed in Feb
- ZP member Umesh Pal ‘witnessed’ murder of then BSP MLA Raju Pal on Jan 25, 2005
- Kidnapped on Feb 28, 2006, as he refused to ‘retract under pressure’ from Ahmad
- FIR lodged against Ahmad, his brother and nine others on July 5, 2007
- Ahmad accused of being involved in conspiracy, while in prison, to kill Pal
- Pal gunned down in Prayagraj on February 24 this year
SC junks his plea for protection in custody
New Delhi: The SC on Tuesday rejected Ahmad’s plea for protection while in custody of the UP Police in Umesh Pal murder case, even as it gave him liberty to approach Allahabad HC. TNS
This is Ahmad’s first conviction in over 100 cases registered against him over the years. Government counsel Gulab Chandra Agrahari said special MP-MLA court judge Dinesh Chandra Shukla held Ahmad, Saulat Hanif, a lawyer, and Dinesh Pasi guilty under Section 364-A (kidnapping or abduction in order to murder) of the IPC.
“The court has awarded the three rigorous life imprisonment and Rs 1 lakh fine each,” Agrahari said, adding the amount would be given to the family of Umesh Pal, who was gunned down last month. The two brothers are also accused in the murder case.
Ahmad and others were taken back to Naini jail in separate police vans.
Umesh Pal’s mother Shanti Devi said she had full faith in the country’s judiciary, but expressed apprehension Ahmad “could do anything from inside the jail”.
