The special CBI court here on Friday framed charges against gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his son Mohammad Umar Ahmed in a 2018 kidnapping case, paving the way for the beginning of the trial in the case.
Mohit Jaiswal, a realtor from Lucknow, had alleged in December 2018 that he was kidnapped and taken to Atiq in the Deoria jail where he was lodged at the time. Jaiswal was allegedly assaulted and forced to transfer his properties worth ₹45 crore in the name of Atiq and his son before he was allowed to leave.
The court framed charges under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 364 A which concerns kidnapping or abduction. Under this section, the convicted person/s can be slapped with life imprisonment or a prison term that may extend up to 10 years.
Umar, who is lodged in Lucknow jail, appeared before the court in the police’s custody while his father attended the hearing via video conferencing from the Sabarmati jail in Ahmedabad, where he is lodged at present.
After returning to Lucknow, Jaiswal lodged an FIR at the Krishna Nagar police station on December 31, 2018. The state government handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which launched its probe on June 12, 2019. Three years later, Umar surrendered himself before the CBI court on August 23, 2022. The CBI, later, filed four charge-sheets in connection with the case.
{{/usCountry}}After returning to Lucknow, Jaiswal lodged an FIR at the Krishna Nagar police station on December 31, 2018. The state government handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which launched its probe on June 12, 2019. Three years later, Umar surrendered himself before the CBI court on August 23, 2022. The CBI, later, filed four charge-sheets in connection with the case.
{{/usCountry}}The court had already framed charges against other accused in the case, including Pawan Singh, Zafar-ul- Mohammad Farooq, Imran Ahmad, Mahendra Singh, Yogesh Kumar, Nitish Mishra, Gulam Moin Siddiqui, Mohammad Hamza and Zaki Ahmed.
It may be noted that the MP/MLA court in Prayagraj, on March 28, had awarded life imprisonment to Atiq, an ex-MP, in the abduction case of lawyer Umesh Pal.
Pal, who was the prime witness in the sensational murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005, was killed on February 24 this year near his Prayagraj residence. Atiq and his brother Ashraf are among the accused in the case.