The state government now owns the 50 crore benami property of mafia don Atiq Ahmed, who was shot dead on April 15, 2023, in Prayagrag while being escorted by over a dozen police officers for a normal medical checkup.
This illegal and benami property was seized by the Prayagraj Police Commissionerate under the Gangsters Act in November 2023.
After the seizure, Atiq Ahmed's family was asked to provide evidence of legitimate sources of income for this immovable property within three months. However, no evidence was presented by the opposing parties.
Consequently, on March 7, the Commissioner Court sent the case file to the Gangster Court for judicial review. The Gangster Court upheld the seizure order.
The Gangster Court also confirmed the decision of the Police Commissioner Court, ordering that the benami property be vested in the state government.
Notably, a case under the Gangsters Act was registered against Atiq Ahmed in 2020. While investigating this case, the investigator discovered this benami property belonging to the mafia don.
Atiq Ahmed had purchased this property in the name of Hoobalal, a poor mason from the Scheduled Caste community in Lalapur, Yamunapar.
In 2015, 2.34 hectares of land in Kathula Gospur was registered in Hoobalal's name. The official value of this land is 12.42 crore rupees, while its market value is 50 crore rupees.
When actions against Atiq Ahmed's illegal and benami properties began, Hoobalal himself approached the police. He informed them that Atiq Ahmed had bought the land in his name. Due to fear and intimidation, he could not refuse the registration. However, he now wants to return the land.
The police sent a report to the Police Commissioner on August 29, 2023, to confiscate this land. During the investigation, it was found that Hoobalal and his wife had a maximum of 1.65 lakh and 97 thousand rupees in their bank accounts.
Based on the investigation, the police submitted the report with recommendations to the Police Commissioner's Court.
Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma's court ordered the confiscation on November 4, 2023. According to DCP City Deepak Bhukar, this is the first case where confiscated property has been vested in the state government within 10 months and 17 days.
He stated that strong evidence and effective advocacy resulted in the confiscated property being vested in the state government.
Since the implementation of the Police Commissionerate, continuous action against mafias has been ongoing.