E-Paper
After Umesh Pal murder, all men in Atiq’s family either in jail or on the run
Shaista Parveen, Atiq’s wife, however, is the first woman in the family who was named in a criminal case and is absconding since.
Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad, who has been the subject of fresh public and media scrutiny after the daylight murder of Prayagraj-based lawyer Umesh Pal on February 24, has attained the dubious distinction of having many of his family members either on the run or behind bars.
All adult male members of Atiq’s family are either in jail or on the run after February 24.
Along with Atiq, who was lodged in a Gujarat jail even before the attack, his younger ex-MLA brother Khalid Azeem (Ashraf) and his two eldest sons, Umar and Ali Ahmad, are in different jails of Uttar Pradesh in connection with different cases.
Atiq’s wife Shaista Parveen and third eldest son Asad have been on the run ever since Umesh Pal was murdered. Cash rewards were announced for information leading to their capture. Atiq’s youngest sons are in Khuladabad juvenile homes in Prayagraj since both are minors.
The police had also detained Atiq’s sister and Ashraf’s wife for questioning. Both, in a statement, claimed that the police misbehaved with them and detained them illegally for four days.
In 2007, Atiq went into hiding after the police began reinvestigating BSP MLA Raju Pal’s murder when the Mayawati government came to power. Though Atiq was the Phulpur MP at the time, the police did not hesitate to declare a reward of ₹20,000 on him.
Atiq was later arrested from New Delhi and brought to Uttar Pradesh. A cash reward of ₹1 lakh was declared on Ashraf, who was arrested in 2010 as he was made an accused in the same case. A reward of the same amount was declared on Ashraf before he was arrested again in 2020.
Atiq’s eldest son Umar was wanted in connection with the abduction and assault of realtor Mohit Agarwal, after which the CBI had announced a reward of ₹2 lakh on him. However, Umar surrendered before the court and was sent to jail.
Atiq’s second son Ali was accused of assaulting a property dealer, one Zeeshan, and demanding extortion from him. A cash reward of ₹50,000 was declared on him but Ali also surrendered before the court.
Leaving his father, uncle and brothers far behind in terms of rewards announced on their names, Atiq’s third son, Asad, carries a bounty of ₹5 lakh on his head.
Shaista Parveen, Atiq’s wife, however, is the first woman in the family who was named in a criminal case and is absconding since. This is a major setback for the family since she represented her husband in public on many occasions and even reportedly took care of political affairs.
Meanwhile, police have attached a number of properties owned by Atiq, his kin and close aides over the past three years.
