Mafia Don Atique Ahmed shot dead in UP: A look at the dreaded criminal's political career

Atique Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed have been confirmed dead after both were shot by three men at close range in the late hours of April 15 in Prayagraj. According to the police, both were being taken for their medical examination before being taken into 5-day remand for interrogation. Once a dreaded gangster, Atique's intimidating reputation earned him a successful career which later took a fall after the killing of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal in 2005.  

#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Moment when Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were shot dead while interacting with media.

(Warning: Disturbing Visuals) pic.twitter.com/xCmf0kOfcQ

— ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2023

Atique Ahmed's political career

Atique Ahmed's political career began with his election as an MLA from Allahabad West in 1989. Since he was already a dreaded criminal by 1979 when he was accused of murder, he managed to win the election and retained the seat for next two terms. His fourth victory came when he contested the election for Samajwadi Party in 1996. He then went on to become the President of Apna Dal from 1999 to 2003 and even contested the 2002 election which he won.

He returned to the Samajwadi Party in 2004 Lok Sabha election and won with a margin of 60,000 votes. With over 100 cases registered against him, Atique was expelled from the party in 2008 after he surrendered for the murder of Raju Pal, the BSP MLA. Notably, it was Pal's murder that was the beginning of the end for Atique. The BSP MLA was murdered after he defeated Atique's brother Ashraf (then SP candidate) in the 2005 assembly bypoll. Later, he joined Apna Dal again and contested 2009 elections from the Pratapgarh constituency but lost. He even contested the Lok Sabha by-election held in 2018, as an independent candidate, but only managed to get around 48,000 votes. 

He was recently imprisoned for life for the cases related to Raju Pal and was sent to 14-day judicial custody when he was shot by three youngsters. Atique was also booked for murder, abductions, illegal mining, extortion, intimidation and fraud, among others. Atique is survived by his wife, who is also an accused in the Umesh Pal murder case (Umesh was the witness of Raju Pal's murder) and four sons.

Atique Ahmed's third son, Asad Ahmad was killed in an encounter by UP Special Task Force in Jhansi on April 13. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has ordered a high-level enquiry into the killing of the Ahmed brothers.