Atiq Ahmed gets life imprisonment in Umesh Pal kidnapping case

Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed was on Tuesday sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2006 kidnapping case of lawyer Umesh Pal.

Ahmad and two others including Dinesh Pasi and Khan Saulat Haneef have been given rigorous life imprisonment and ordered to pay ₹1 lakh compensation to Umesh Pal’s family. A fine of ₹5000 on each of the three has also been imposed.

An MP/MLA court in Prayagraj had pronounced gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and three others guilty in the kidnapping of lawyer Umesh Pal, the main witness in the killing of Bahujan Samaj Party lawmaker Raju Pal. Umesh Pal was shot dead in Prayagraj on February 24.

Atiq and former corporator Dinesh Pasi have been convicted of Section 364 A ( Kidnapping a person and the person being put in danger of being murdered ) of IPC among others.

Atiq Ahmad was brought to Prayagraj yesterday from Gujarat by a 45-member Uttar Pradesh Police team. He was taken to the Naini Central Jail and has been kept in a high-security barrack adjacent to the women’s jail.

Ahmad is also the prime accused in the murder of lawyer Umesh Pal, who was later shot dead in Prayagraj on February 24.

In another development, the Supreme Court also dismissed Ahmad’s plea seeking protection during his custody with the UP Police. A bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi granted the don-turned-politician liberty to move the Allahabad high court for protection after he claimed his life is under threat, PTI reported.