The government has acquired property valued at approximately Rs 50 crore from the estate of the late gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, under the provisions of the Gangsters Act. The property, comprising 2.377 hectares of land, was allegedly purchased using funds obtained from criminal activities.
District Government Advocate (Criminal), Gulab Chandra Agrahari, stated that Atiq Ahmed had bought the land in the name of Hoobalal, a mason, with intentions to potentially transfer ownership back to himself if necessary.
The land's registration under Hoobalal's name was contested in court under Section 14 (1) of the Gangsters Act. Despite three months given to present evidence of ownership, no substantiating documents were produced by the concerned party.
Subsequently, the Police Commissioner Court forwarded the case file to the Gangster Court in Prayagraj. On Tuesday, Judge Vinod Kumar Chaurasia affirmed the Police Commissioner's actions as just and ruled in favor of the government, thereby transferring ownership of the property to state control.
Police investigations into Atiq Ahmed's activities revealed that the land in question, located within the jurisdiction of the Airport police station, had been registered under Hoobalal's name in 2015. During interrogation, Hoobalal disclosed that the transaction had been orchestrated under duress by Atiq Ahmed.
Atiq Ahmed, along with his brother Ashraf, had been implicated in numerous criminal cases, including the infamous Umesh Pal murder case. Both individuals were fatally shot in police custody on April 15 of the previous year.
