Atiq Ahmed refuses to leave over ‘threat to life’ as UP Police reaches Sabarmati jail

Atiq Ahmed, a former five-time MLA and one-time MP (PTI file image)

Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, who is currently lodged in Gujarat's Sabarmati jail, has refused to leave the prison premises as a team of the Uttar Pradesh Police arrived to take his custody, citing a "threat to his life", reports said on March 26, citing sources.

Ahmed, who is to be produced by the UP Police before the Prayagraj court for his sentencing in a kidnapping case on March 28, fears that he will be killed in a staged accident or an encounter, sources told NDTV.

Ahmed is the prime accused in the kidnapping of Umesh Pal, a witness in the 2005 murder case of BSP MLA Raju Pal.

The abduction case also dates back to 2005. However, it drew nationwide attention after Umesh Pal was gunned down outside his residence in Prayagraj on February 24 this year.

Also Read | Another accused in Umesh Pal murder case killed in encounter: UP Police

Ahmed has been lodged in Sabarmati jail since June 2019 after the Supreme Court had in April that year directed that the former MP from Phulpur in UP be shifted to a high-security jail in Gujarat after he was accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and assault of a real estate businessman Mohit Jaiswal while in jail. He is named in more than 100 criminal cases, police said.

Earlier this month, Ahmed had moved the Supreme Court for protection, claiming that he and his family have been falsely implicated as accused in the Umesh Pal murder case in Prayagraj and he may be killed in a fake encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Police.

In his plea, Ahmed said the Uttar Pradesh police were in all likelihood seeking his transit remand and police remand to take him from Ahmedabad to Prayagraj and he "genuinely apprehends that he may be eliminated during this transit period".

With PTI inputs