Nine persons, including four policemen and incarcerated criminal Atiq, were arrested and sent to jail on Tuesday after they were found staying in a railway guesthouse in Charbagh late on Monday night. Facing trial in several cases of murder and other offences, Atiq was already in judicial custody and was supposed to be in Kanpur for back-to-back production in court.
They had been staying in a 'yellow category' luxury room at Lucknow Junction under North Eastern Railways (NER) for the last five days. The presence of Atiq, who had been brought from Siddarthnagar prison to Kanpur for production, has put the authorities in a tight spot.
“It was really shocking that the policemen allowed Atiq to come to Lucknow and stay here after every appearance in a Kanpur court,“ Additional Director General (ADG) Brij Lal told HT on Tuesday.
He said Atiq was brought to Kanpur on Wednesday last for production slated for Thursday, Saturday, Monday and Wednesday. After every production, he 'managed' to visit Lucknow and stay in the guesthouse in fake names.
The ADG said as per rules, the accused in police custody should be kept in the district jail concerned or in emergency, he could also be kept in the lock-up of the nearest police station. But the incident has exposed the connivance of the police and railway staffers with the criminal.
“I myself raided the guesthouse after getting information of their stay and arrested them from room number 5,” said the ADG.
{{/usCountry}}“I myself raided the guesthouse after getting information of their stay and arrested them from room number 5,” said the ADG.
{{/usCountry}}The arrested persons are Atiq Ahmad and four others Mohammed Tariq, Moin Qureshi, Javed Hussain Farooqi and Mohd Barkat. They had come to meet him. Four policemen arrested are: S-I Ashraful Ain Siddiqui, and three constables Jai Mangal Prasad, Jagdish Kumar, and Ramapati Yadav.
He said the room was booked in the names of three persons whose identity is yet to be ascertained. They are: MP Qureshi, (booking for Thursday and Friday), Mrs. Ahmad (on Saturday and Sunday) and R Fatima (on Monday).
The ADG added that NER officials have been informed about the connivance of their staff and asked to initiate stern action against them. The police have charged them with criminal conspiracy.
Besides, the policemen have been accused of fraud, criminal conspiracy and charges under sections of anti-corruption act. Siddarth Nagar superintendent of police (SP) has also been asked to initiate process of their termination after suspending them.