MLA murder case: CBI court frames charges against jailed gangster Atiq Ahmad

LUCKNOW: The special CBI court in Lucknow framed charges against jailed gangster and former MP Atiq Ahmad in BSP MLA Raju Pal’s murder case on Thursday.
Atiq – who was lodged in Sabarmati jail – has been brought to Lucknow for the hearing as mandated by the court.
After initial investigation by UP Police, the CBI had taken over the investigations into the case in 2016 and filed a chargesheet against 10 persons, including jailed former MP Atiq Ahmed and his younger brother former MLA Ashraf alias Khalid Azim in 2019.
On Thursday, former MP Atiq Ahmad, former MLA Ashraf along with Gulshan, Farhan, Ranjeet Pal and Israr had appeared in the court and were charged by the court for murder, criminal conspiracy, rioting, rioting armed with deadly weapons.
Atiq was not charged under the Arms Act while five others, including Ashraf, were charged under the law.
The jailed gangster was brought from the Sabarmati jail by road under a thick security cover. A senior official told TOI that as many as 25 cops from Gujarat were part of the security contingent. Besides, as they entered UP, two platoons of PAC were added along with four inspectors and eight sub-inspectors under the charge of DSP-rank officers. Overall, five officials of CBI were heading the entire security team.
Earlier, the gangster was first brought to Lucknow jail around 9.30 pm and given a night halt. Thereafter, around 12.15 pm, he went for the appearance in the Lucknow CBI court. His brother, former MLA Ashraf, who was brought from Bareilly jail, also joined him during the hearing. As per the court orders, Ashraf was again asked to appear on November 3.
To recall, BSP MLA from Allahabad West constituency, Raju Pal, and two others were shot dead and his wife and another person seriously injured by unidentified assailants in Allahabad on January 25, 2005. In 2007, the Mayawati government had recommended the case to the CBI. Later, in 2016, on the SC’s order, the case was finally registered.
Yogi is brave, honest & working hard, says jailed gangster Atiq Ahmad
Minutes after his appearance in a special CBI court where charges were framed against him for murder and other charges, Atiq Ahmad, the gangster-turned-former MP, lauded the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
In a move that baffled political experts, the former MP, who was clad in a black kurta and smiled and waved at people as he stepped out of the prison van, said, “Yogi Adityanath bahut bahadur, imaandar hain aur mehnat kar rahe hain (Yogi Adityanath is very brave, honest and working hard)”.
He was replying to requests by the reporters to say something.
Soon afterwards, another prison van carrying Ashraf also came out from the court. When posed with the same question, he said, “Sansadji ne jo bhi kaha sahi hai (Whatever the ex-MP said is true).”