Separate barrack, dal, roti, sabzi for dinner: How was Atiq’s first night at Prayagraj jail

Gangster Atiq Ahmed in police custody. (PTI photo)

By India Today News Desk: Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed was brought to Prayagraj's Naini Central Jail from Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati jail on Tuesday evening as he will be produced at a local court in connection with the 2006 kidnapping of Umesh Pal, a witness in the BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case, who was killed last month in an attack allegedly orchestrated by Atiq.

Atiq, along with his gangster brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, who was brought from a Bareilly jail, and another co-accused, Farhan, were kept in separate barracks of the jail. Atiq’s first night in the Prayagraj jail kept officials on their toes as they were tasked with ensuring safety and security.

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According to Senior Jail Superintendent Shashikant Singh, the three accused were first taken for medical check-up.

He said a separate CCTV camera had been installed in Atiq Ahmed's cell which was controlled by the jail headquarters. All three were served meals as per the jail manual.

They were given pulses, rice, vegetables, and rotis for dinner.

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THE CASE AGAINST ATIQ AHMED

Following the killing of BSP MLA Raju Pal on January 25, 2005, Umesh Pal, then a zila panchayat member, had told police he was a witness to the murder.

Umesh alleged that when he refused to retract and buckle under pressure from Atiq Ahmed, he was kidnapped at gunpoint on February 28, 2006. The FIR was registered on July 5, 2007, against Atiq, his brother Ashraf and four unidentified persons. The chargesheet mentioned 11 accused.

Atiq Ahmed, a former Samajwadi Party MP from Phulpur, was shifted to the Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat in June 2019 following a Supreme Court order after he was accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and assault of real estate businessman Mohit Jaiswal while in prison in Uttar Pradesh.