Samajwadi Party Lok Sabha candidate Zia ur Rahman Barq calls Atiq Ahmad, Mukhtar Ansari ‘heroes’, booked

BAREILLY: Samajwadi Party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Sambhal, Zia ur Rahman Barq, was booked on Tuesday for presenting gangsters-turned-politicians — Atiq Ahmad, Mukhtar Ansari and Md Shahabuddin — as “heroes” and seeking votes at a poll meeting purportedly in the name of their “sacrifice”.

SP (Sambhal), Kuldeep Gunawat, said, “Action was taken on a complaint by sector magistrate Harishankar Prasad. A video of the speech was submitted and the investigating officer will carry out a probe for necessary action.”

Zia, grandson of incumbent MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq who passed away in Feb, was booked under IPC sections 171-C (undue influence at elections), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant) after a complaint by Prasad at Nakhasa police station. Police said the meeting was held “without prior permission” at Nakhasa in the city’s Sadar area on Sunday night.

At the meeting, Zia invoked the names of the “gangsters”, saying, “Situation in Sambhal, the entire state and country is not hidden from anyone. When Yogi ‘maharaj’ came to Bilari (town in Sambhal), he intimidated people with a bulldozer. He is a victim of misunderstanding, we’ll make their engine fail this election”.

Zia, who was fielded by SP from Sambhal after his grandfather’s death, also mentioned the “ill-treatment” meted out to veteran SP leader Azam Khan — currently in jail — and his family. Late Barq, a five-time MP, was a popular local politician.

In response, Zia said, “Some ministers and MLAs of the ruling party speak in a language unheard of in politics and nothing is done to stop them... I’ll surely remember this unilateral action being taken against me. The Election Commission should look into divisive speeches by BJP leaders as well.” Zia is currently an MLA from Kundarki assembly segment in neighbouring Moradabad district. He belongs to the ‘family of Turks’ who are sizable in number in Rohilkhand region.

On April 15, 2023, Atiq, an MP and MLA, was shot dead by assailants along with his brother Ashraf in front of police and the media in Prayagraj. Ansari, a five-time MLA from Mau, had died of a “heart attack” on March 28, 2024.

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