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By Simer Chawla: Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed’s decades-old mafia empire in Uttar Pradesh collapsed when he was shot dead in police custody in Prayagraj on April 15. In his prime, Atiq was notorious for murders and land grabs.
But not many are aware that the don once locked horns with Veera Gandhi, a relative of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, over a piece of property in Lucknow’s posh Civil Lines area.
Veera Gandhi’s family is prominent in Prayagraj and they own the Palace Talkies in the Civil Lines area.
The incident reportedly took place in 2007 when Atiq, through his henchmen, unlawfully occupied the land on which Veera Gandhi’s property was located behind Palace Talkies and locked it down. Atiq was an MP then from Phulpur and represented the Samajwadi Party (SP), the ruling party in the state then.
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When Veera Gandhi came to know about it, she appealed to the state government and district administration to take action, but nothing was done.
Following this, Veera Gandhi left for Delhi and sought the intervention of the Congress-led central government. Sonia Gandhi was the chairperson of the Congress-led UPA in the Centre. Following this, Atiq was reportedly forced to give up the land.
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Former inspector general (IG) Lalji Shukla, who was the SP City in Prayagraj(???), and was at loggerheads with Atiq and his henchmen, said that Veera Gandhi’s family owned several pieces of land in Prayagraj.
“Atiq wanted to occupy the land as it was located behind Palace Talkies. He tried this as an experiment. If he had successfully occupied the land, then he would have captured other lands owned by Veera Gandhi’s family as well,” the police officer said.
Atiq and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range while in police custody by three men posing as journalists. They were at a hospital for a late-night medical check-up and talking to journalists when they were shot dead. The two were accused in the murder of Umesh Pal, the witness to the 2005 killing of BSP MLA Raju Pal.
Three men were subsequently arrested by the police for the gangster and his brother’s death. A court in Prayagraj sent the shooters to four days in police remand.
ALSO READ | ‘Son reaped what father sowed’: Widow of Umesh Pal on Atiq’s murder, Asad’s encounter
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