Gangster Atiq Ahmed hails UP CM, says 'Yogi Adityanath is brave and honest...'

Gangster cum former MP Atiq Ahmed, who was brought to a CBI Court in Lucknow, was seen praising CM Yogi Adityanath from Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat, according to reports.

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Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath remains in discussion for taking a tough stand against gangsters and mafias hitherto active in the state, but this time he has been praised by none other than gangster cum former MP Atiq Ahmed while on his way to CBI Court, Lucknow. The gangster appreciated the Chief Minister and said "Yogi Adityanath is brave and honest." Atiq Ahmed, who was brought to a CBI Court in Lucknow, was seen praising CM Yogi Adityanath from Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat, according to reports. 

The jailed gangster praised CM Yogi Adityanath while talking to reporters inside a police vehicle. Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf have been accused of killing BSP MLA Raju Pal. They were produced before the Anti-Corruption Court of CBI in connection with that case here on Thursday. 

Charges framed against Atiq Ahmad in BSP MLA murder case

A special CBI court on Thursday framed charges against politician Atiq Ahmad and other accused for the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005. The court also fixed November 3 for recording evidence of prosecution witnesses. Ahmad was brought from Sabarmati jail, Gujarat, under high security and produced in the court of special CBI judge Kavita Mishra.

The state government has targeted Ahmad and has launched a crackdown on his illegal properties, several of them were attached and demolished also. The other accused, Ashraf and Farhan, were brought to the court from Lucknow district jail. Four other accused- Ranjit Pal, Aabid, Israr Ahmed, and Junaid, who are on bail, were also present in the court.

The court framed charges against Ahmad and the others for murder, conspiracy, and attempted murder. All accused denied charges and pleaded not guilty.

On July 2020, the UP police arrested Khalid Ajim alias Ashraf, the brother of former MP Atiq Ahmed, an accused in the murder case of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal. In the 2004 Assembly polls, Pal had defeated Ajim as a BSP candidate from Allahabad west. Pal and his two gunners were also killed in an attack just after four months of assembly elections in Sulem Sarai Bazar on January 25, 2005. 

In the incident, two others, Devi Pal and Sandeep Yadav, were also killed, and two more were seriously injured. The case was reported at Dhoomanganj Police Station in Prayagraj by Pooja Pal, Raju Pal's wife.

Initially, the probe was conducted by police and CBCID, but the CBI took over the case on January 22, 2016, at the Supreme Court's order. A charge sheet was submitted against Ahmad and the other accused on August 20, 2019.

(With ANI/PTI Inputs)