New Delhi: The court of chief judicial magistrate (CJM) in Prayagraj on Tuesday dismissed the plea of Atiq Ahmed seeking to be heard via video-conferencing in the Umesh Pal murder case.
The court stated that the police should make a decision based on their own discretion in accordance with the law and regulations.
Atiq Ahmed had claimed that he was suffering from serious illnesses and hence, won't be able to appear in person in Prayagraj. He had requested a hearing via video conference, citing his medical conditions.
However, the court did not intervene in the matter directly.
Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed will be brought back to Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj from Sabarmati jail on Tuesday amid tight police security with a fresh warrant.
Atiq convicted in 2006 kidnapping case
Mafia-don-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed was convicted on March 28 and was sentenced to life imprisonment in the abduction case of the now-deceased Umesh Pal.
Ahmed's brother Khalid Azeem, also known as Ashraf, was acquitted in the case. However, Ashraf is still an accused in the Raju Pal murder case.
Pal's case became the first in which Atiq Ahmed, who has more than 100 cases registered against him in the last 43 years, got convicted. He faces serious criminal charges in cases of murder, extortion, kidnapping, intimidation, rioting, and many others.
Umesh Pal, an advocate and a prime witness in the 2005 murder case of the Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal, was shot dead this year on February 24 in Prayagraj. Apart from Pal, his two security personnel were also shot dead.
For his conviction in the 2006 kidnapping case, Atiq Ahmed was brought from Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad to Prayagraj after a nearly 24-hour-long road journey.
Atiq Ahmed's Background
Born on August 10, 1962, Atiq Ahmed is named in over 100 cases, as per the police. His brother Ashraf has 52 cases, his wife Shaista Praveen has three, and his sons Ali and Umar Ahmad have four and one cases, respectively, against them.
Atiq Ahmed first won the Allahabad West seat as an independent candidate in the 1989 UP Assembly election. He went on to win the next two elections as well.
He switched to the Samajwadi Party in 1993 and then moved to Apna Dal in 1999. He quit the Apna Dal in 2003 to go back to Samjwadi Party, where he remained till his arrest in 2018.