Atiq Ahmad: Strongman who dabbled in the worlds of crime, politics

The first signs of his impending downfall came in 2016, when his aides allegedly assaulted the staff of a college in Prayagraj for taking action against students caught cheating in an exam. The incident triggered an outrage, and no political party was willing to nominate him anymore.

The year is 1979 and Uttar Pradesh is in ferment. Factionalism in the Janata Party government is rampant, the rise of farmer politics is changing the grammar of elections in the heartland, and organised crime is rising in India’s largest province. It is in this melee that Atiq Ahmad first emerged as a criminal in erstwhile Allahabad, allegedly stabbing a local rival Mohammed Gulam in full public view. Outrage ensued, but so did ripples of fear, allowing Ahmad, then 17, to quickly establish himself as a local strongman.

In these four decades, the politician amassed 101 first information reports (FIRs) against him across India, but was never convicted until Tuesday.

Born in Shravasti to a Muslim family, Ahmad moved to Prayagraj and quickly gained notoriety, publicly clashing entrenched local gangster Shauq Ilahi, and taking over his fiefdom in the old city area after the latter was gunned down in a police encounter in 1989. Sensing his opportunity, Ahmad quickly announced his candidate for the assembly elections from the Allahabad West seat that year – riding a horse through the old city and taking out a motorcycle rally to stamp his authority among young people and the Muslim community. He won the election as an independent candidate , marking the beginning of a long and controversial career where he used a mix of crime and politics to cement his hold in the region.

That journey came to an end on Tuesday as a special court in Prayagraj convicted the former MP and two associates in a 2006 abduction case.

“His conviction has broken the myth that criminals like him will always manage to escape the clutches of the law,” said former director general of police Brij Lal, who is also a Bharatiya Janata Party MP.

In these four decades, the politician amassed 101 first information reports (FIRs) against him across India, but was never convicted. In 12 cases – including the 1979 murder – he was acquitted, and in another two, the state government withdrew proceedings. “He was involved in cases of murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, conspiracy, extortion, fraud, threats, land grabbing, and others,” said retired police officer KP Singh, who served in Prayagraj before 2012.

After entering the assembly, Ahmad quickly consolidated his position, projecting his brother Khalid Azeem, and building a network of associates who fanned out across the region to enable control. “Things got to a point where Atiq would hold court and decide the fate of his rivals. He awarded punishments in several cases that were ‘settled’ outside the court,” said a police officer, on anonymity.

He won again as an independent in 1991, and then in 1993. That year, he joined the Samajwadi Party and stood for elections three years later from the same seat, winning again. In 1999, he joined the newly formed Apna Dal and served as its state president, only to return to the SP in 2003. The next year, he fought the Lok Sabha elections from Phulpur on an SP ticket and won.

“Atiq built his empire by scaring off people. There was a time when no common man could even think of raising a voice against him,” said senior lawyer Rohit Srivastava.

During this time, his political influence was on the rise, and several parties scrambled to be close to him. But a rival was on the horizon – Bahujan Samaj Party lawmaker Raju Pal, who defeated Azeem in the assembly election in 2005.

Things came to a head three months later, when Raju Pal was shot dead outside his house by gunmen allegedly acting at the behest of Ahmad and Azeem. The public killing of the lawmaker sparked outrage and forced the state government to move against Ahmad and charge him with murder. He went to jail for the first time. But imprisonment didn’t temper his influence. He allegedly continued to run his crime empire from the police lock up even allegedly ordering hits and murders. In 2018, a Lucknow-based realtor was thrashed and abducted allegedly by Ahmad’s aides. This case finally prompted the Supreme Court to order Ahmad be shifted out of the state.

Due to his rising notoriety, Ahmad didn’t win an election after 2004, and slowly, political parties started dissociating from him. But electoral reverses didn’t hurt his enterprise -- when he filed his nomination from jail in 2012, some judges refused to hear his bail plea, until it was finally granted, said a senior police officer familiar with the matter who asked not to be named.

The first signs of his impending downfall came in 2016, when his aides allegedly assaulted the staff of a college in Prayagraj for taking action against students caught cheating in an exam. The incident triggered an outrage, and no political party was willing to nominate him anymore. He was arrested and imprisoned next year, and in 2018, moved out of the state.

Now, the road appears steep for Ahmad. “The UP Police unit has a zero-tolerance policy against all criminal elements…It is this approach that ensured Atiq Ahmad’s conviction and sentence for the first time,” said additional director general (law and order), Prashant Kumar.