Police and media surround the area where Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were shot in front of the Motilal Nehru medical college in, Prayagraj, India, Saturday, April 15, 2023. Photo- AP
New Delhi: As gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were shot dead on Saturday in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj district, the question remained unanswered whether the actual extent of his illegal financial empire will ever be ascertained.
The question is pertinent considering the situation that his most-trusted partner-in-crime, his younger brother and former MLA Ashraf also killed on Saturday night by three armed assailants.
Even after the UP government in a recent statement claimed to have already seized properties and assets worth around Rs 1,169 crore belonging to Atiq Ahmed, authorities are putting all-out efforts to unearth unaccounted properties that are estimated to be of several thousand crores.
Atiq was accused of several heinous crimes and over 100 cases of kidnapping, attempt to murder, and murders registered against him.
Atiq had declared movable and immovable assets worth only Rs 25 crore in the last affidavit filed before the Election Commission of India in 2019 when Atiq had contested as an independent candidate from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat.
But over the past three years, as the UP authorities vigorously chased him, trying to dismantle his clout, the value of his properties and investments was already more than Rs 1,100 crore, News 18 reported.
Read also: Projecting lawbreaker as lawmaker: Why Western media fails to see a gangster in Atiq Ahmed
It was very recently that the Enforcement Directorate began its probe into don Atiq’s financial empire. In April itself, raids were conducted at multiple locations of UP, including Atiq’s native district of Prayagraj.
News 18 quoted sources in the government as saying that attachments, seizures, and demolitions so far, accounting for Rs 1,169 crore in assets, could just be the tip of the pan-India and probably also offshore business and investment empire that the former ‘bahubali’ MP created.
The question is with Atiq and Ashraf’s deaths, will the truth ever be conclusively known?
A top cop of UP who had followed the Atiq gang for years feels Shaista Parveen could be the key to the unfinished probe.
The way she allegedly played a key role in the conspiracy of the Umesh Pal murder case suggests she had risen up the ladder within the gang ever since Atiq and Ashraf were mostly behind bars, he said.
Over the past five years at least, she had been a key party to the gang’s investments of the ill-gotten wealth, said the official.
Read also: 40 years after killing his ‘guru’, Atiq Ahmed murdered in similar fashion
A big reason for her still absconding despite the deaths of her son Asad and husband Atiq could well be the urgency to settle the financial support base of the family, say sources. Her two adult sons, Ali and Umar, are also behind bars, thus leaving only her to manage and settle the financial issues. Following the deaths of Atiq and Ashraf, probably Shaista alone is the only key person with knowledge of the gang’s ‘white’ support base, say sources.
Sources in the government told News 18 that Atiq’s family has business interests in major Indian cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Pune, apart from Prayagraj, Lucknow, and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. “There is a strong possibility of offshore investments in countries of the Gulf and Southeast Asia,” News 18 quoted sources as saying.
In the 2019 election affidavit, Atiq described himself as a contractor, builder, property dealer, and agriculturalist. However, a much larger base of contractors, builders, businessmen, and probably politicians had been the real handlers of Atiq’s ill-gotten wealth, say sources.
With the don being buried now, the real war against organised crime will really be successful if this support base is exposed, they maintain. And the absconding Shaista Parveen probably remains the last link alive to decoding this secret.
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.