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Gangster Atiq hooted amid concern over acquittal of most accused
Faces of Atiq, his lawyer Khan Saulat Haneef and aide Dinesh Pasi drooped as they were convicted for the abduction and assault of Umesh Pal in 2006
A section of lawyers hooted and shouted slogans against gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed besides demanding death penalty for him as he was being escorted to the premises of MP /MLA court in Prayagraj on Tuesday noon. Later, as the police were escorting Atiq out of the court to the prison van at around 3.30pm, a group of lawyers jostled him. However, cops sprang into action and pushed the lawyers away from him.
Meanwhile, acquittal of most of accused in the 2006 Umesh Pal kidnapping case, including Atiq’s brother Khalid Azim, also remained a topic of discussion among lawyers and others present in large numbers outside the court. However, the supporters of Umesh Pal present outside the court premises hailed the judgment.As Atiq was entering the court room amid heavy security at around 12.20 pm, a group of lawyers assembled there raised slogans and demanded capital punishment for him.
Expression on the faces of Atiq Ahmed and other accused clearly indicated that they had an intuition about the court’s verdict to be pronounced against them and seemed anxious.Lawyers present in the court room claimed that Atiq and his brother hugged each other and cried for a while as they had met after a long time. However, the court intervened and restored order to begin the proceedings.
Faces of Atiq, his lawyer Khan Saulat Haneef and aide Dinesh Pasi drooped as they were convicted for the abduction and assault of Umesh Pal in 2006. After pronouncement of life imprisonment to the trio at around 1.30 pm, Atiq Ahmed himself argued that the sentence was too severe for him, lawyers at the spot claimed.
As Atiq and others were already in police custody, policemen immediately took custody of his lawyer Khan Saulat Haneef and Dinesh Pasi who were present in the courtroom as the judgment was pronounced. Policemen escorted Khan Saulat to a prison van as he claimed before media persons that he was being convicted for the sole reason of being the lawyer of Atiq Ahmad and having fought cases for him. “We are being wrongly convicted and will appeal against the verdict at a higher court,” Saulat said as he was being taken into custody.
Dinesh Pasi too claimed that he was being falsely implicated in the case. “I have been framed but I have full faith in God. I will move the high court against the judgment” Pasi said to media persons while sitting in a police van. A lawyer stood outside the court with a garland of shoes, which he claimed he had brought for Atiq Ahmed. However, the lawyer failed to get near Atiq or other accused.
Moreover, some expressed concern over acquittal of Ashraf and henchmen of Atiq, including Farhan, Malli and others. Malli is also an accused in the Raju Pal murder case. However, his name was dropped by the CBI in its chargesheet.
Even as security outside the court was tightened with presence of police, PAC and RAF personnel, police officials had also chalked out a plan for escorting Atiq Ahmed and other accused to the court and taking them back to jail safely.
The routes were predefined and traffic police installed barricading near the district court and at other main crossings to ensure smooth passage to police vehicles carrying the accused.
The atmosphere in the city remained uneasy as people glued to television set waiting for the verdict. The traffic on busy roads in Prayagraj was comparatively thinner than usual. Situation at Chakia, Atiq’s stronghold, and other adjoining localities was also tense as locals speculated about the judgment.
