Regretful Atique Ahmed breaks down in court after son's encounter, blames himself

Atiq Ahmed now seems to be full of regret after his son Asad Ahmed was killed in an encounter in Jhansi on April 13. According to sources, Atiq broke down at Prayagraj court where he was presented for his trial and asked his brother Ashraf Khalid Azim alias Ashraf to take care of the family. 

Sources further revealed that a teary-eyed Atiq asked the police officials if they would hand over his son's dead body to the family. "All this happened because of me. I never thought this would ever happen. This is what was left to see," Atique said. 

#WATCH | Former MP Atiq Ahmed's son Asad, aide killed in an encounter by UP STF in Jhansi

Visuals from the encounter site pic.twitter.com/kL3fUrr7S7

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 13, 2023

(Atique and Ashraf at Prayagraj court; Image: Republic)

Meanwhile, the gangster-turned-politician from the Samajwadi Party (SP) and his brother have been sent to 14-day judicial custody by a Prayagraj court in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case. They were produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate Dinesh Gautam at 11:10 am amid heavy security and they remained in the court for over two hours as the arguments proceeded. It is said that Atiq fainted after he was informed about his son's death. They will be kept in Naini jail in Prayagraj till April 26, said advocate Vikram Singh, the counsel for Umesh Pal's wife Jaya.

About the encounter

According to Prashant Kumar, Special DG, Law & Order, the encounter began after Asad and his associate Ghulam were intercepted near Jhansi following a tip-off. The officer said that there was firing from both sides and that led to the killing of the two.

They were also accused of the murder of Umesh Pal on February 24 and had Rs 5 lakh bounty on their heads. The daylight killing on a busy street had raised questions over law and order in Uttar Pradesh and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had vowed in the state assembly that he will "destroy" the mafia raj in the state. 

For the court hearing on Thursday, the 60-year-old Atique was brought from Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat and Ashraf was brought from Bareilly jail. This was the second time within a month that he was brought from the Gujarat jail to Prayagraj via road for a court hearing. On March 28, an MP-MLA court held Ahmad and two others guilty in connection with the kidnapping of Umesh Pal in 2006 and sentenced them to rigorous imprisonment for life.