Atiq Ahmed’s property worth ₹50 crore transferred to Uttar Pradesh government

The Uttar Pradesh government took over property worth around ₹50 crore in Prayagraj, that belonged to slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, which was allegedly purchased with money from criminal activities.

District Government Advocate (Criminal) Gulab Chandra Agrahari stated that Atiq acquired 2.377 hectares of land using money from crime-related activities, registering it under a mason named Hoobalal. Atiq also claimed that he would transfer the land to his own name if necessary, PTI reported. The police seized this land in November 2023.

Agrahari stated that the Police Commissioner Court seized the property under Section 14(1) of the Gangsters Act and gave three months to respond. However, no proof of ownership was provided.

The Police Commissioner Court then forwarded the case to the Gangster Court in Prayagraj. On Tuesday, Judge Vinod Kumar Chaurasia deemed the police commissioner’s action “fair and just”, and the property was officially transferred to the state government.

Speaking to Times of India, DCP (city) Deepak Bhuker said after court’s judgement, “For the first time, the gangster court (Prayagraj) has ordered to vest the benami property of slain gangster Atiq Ahmed at Kathula Gauspur village to the state govt on July 15. The Prayagraj police had attached Atiq’s benami property worth crores of rupees at Kathula Gauspur village in Sadar tehsil under the Gangsters Act on November 6, 2023.”

Police said that while investigating a case against Atiq under the Gangsters Act, they discovered he owned the property in Hooblal’s name in the Airport police station area. During questioning, Hooblal revealed that he had nothing to do with the property, and Atiq had forced him to register the land in his name in 2015.

Atiq and his brother Ashraf, involved in over 100 criminal cases, including the Umesh Pal murder case, were shot dead on April 15 last year.