Incarcerated mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed allegedly assaulted a Lucknow-based businessman in Deoria jail after getting him abducted and forced him to sign away property worth ₹40 crore, following which the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday ordered that he be shifted to high-security Bareilly jail.
As the alleged incident left it red-faced, the State government also initiated disciplinary proceedings against Deoria jail superintendent Dilip Kumar Pandey and jailor Mukesh Kumar Katiyar, besides suspending several others.
An order issued by the prisons department said, “Approval has been given for shifting undertrial Atiq Ahmed, who is currently lodged in Deoria district jail, to Bareilly district jail on administrative grounds.”
Deputy jailor Dev Nath Yadav, head warder Munna Pandey and warder Rakesh Kumar Sharma have been suspended and disciplinary proceedings have been started against them, a home department release said.
“The government has sought a report from ADG Prison, so as to fix responsibility regarding the lapse in Deoria jail. Action will be taken accordingly. An FIR has been filed at Krishnanagar police station and of the four named accused, two have been arrested,” U.P. Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar had said in a late night statement Sunday.
Don’s son named
In his police complaint, the real estate businessman, Mohit Jaiswal, alleged that Atiq Ahmed, a former Samajwadi Party MP, his son Umar and about 15 other persons forcibly took away his SUV in which he was driven to Deoria from the State capital Lucknow .
Mr. Jaiswal alleged that he was assaulted by Ahmed and his supporters and forced to sign papers to handover his property worth ₹40 crore before he was let off.
Police booked Ahmed, his son Umar, and accomplices Farooque, Zaki Ahmed, Jafar Ullah, Ghulam Sarvar and 10 to 12 unidentified people on various charges, including attempt to murder, after Mr. Jaiswal filed the complaint at the Krishna Nagar police station in Lucknow.
