Yogi Adityanath came to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017 on the pledge to crackdown on criminals and reform the criminal justice system. To showcase a period of tranquillity, the Yogi government went in for aggressive policing of the local Mafiosi.
Incarceration of three notorious names from the world of local crime — Mukhtar Ansari, Ateeq Ahmed and Azam Khan — was meant to show that no one is above the law or political patronage. All three have visible and powerful connections within the Indian polity. Also, they are considered heroic outlaws in their fiefdoms.
Tightening of the screws on hardboiled gangsters notwithstanding, there are reports alleging this clean-up is its own form of racial profiling. The Opposition claims the “Thakur Mafia” has not been targeted.
Union home minister Amit Shah, during an election rally in UP, said, “Where are Ateeq Ahmed, Mukhtar Ansari, Azam Khan now? If you want them to stay in jail, vote for the BJP in the elections.”
I spoke with a retired senior jail officer in UP. He was in-charge when both Mukhtar and Ateeq Ahmed were in prison. He said, on condition of anonymity, “Mukhtar was a flagrant flouter of rules; constantly demanding comforts in prison; making veiled threats.”
Apparently, Mukhtar gently conveyed to this officer that he had checked out his antecedents and lineage. The menace and manner was meant to warn the officer to stay in Mukhtar’s good books. The officer used humour to deflect it by saying his family and others were staying away from Azamgarh, Mukhtar’s domain.
Political clout is essential to the survival of these dons.
Mukhtar Ansari has held the seat of Mau since1996, having won five times on a BSP ticket. He won’t be contesting this time around. His son is the placeholder.
Mukhtar is a political thoroughbred. He is the grandson of Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari who was the president of Indian National Congress in its early years. His maternal grandfather was Brigadier Mohammad Usman. Mukhtar also happens to be a distant nephew of India’s former Vice-President Hamid Ansari.
He has assiduously built a political constituency around the Varanasi-Mau-Ghazipur-Jaunpur region. In a carefully cultivated philanthropic image, his civic vocation includes financing marriages, donations for infrastructure and other worthwhile charities. All the while in prison.
Anecdotal evidence of his influence was given by the retired jail officer. In 2007, Nasimuddin Siddiqui, the BSP MLA, met Mukhtar in jail at night. Immediately post the visit, the same jail officer got a call from a superior, saying transfer orders of Mukhtar to Ghazipur jail should be prepared immediately. By midnight, Mukhtar had been escorted out. The reason given was he was required for some local elections.
Lucknow old-timers talk of the don like presence of Mukhtar at weddings where a long line of men queue up to kiss his hand, as a sign of obeisance and gratitude.
But ever since the BJP took over in Uttar Pradesh, Mukhtar has been apprehensive about a threat to his life. Mukhtar is kept under constant CCTV surveillance that is monitored from a control room in Lucknow. This is done to ensure he comes to no harm inside the jail. His life came under greater peril ever since two of his trusted men were killed.
In 2018, Munna Bajrangi, one of Mukhtar’s sicarios was killed in the Baghpat district jail. In August 2020, Rakesh Pandey was killed in Lucknow in an encounter by the police. Both these men were part of the gang that killed Krishnanand Rai, BJP MLA, in 2005.
Mukhtar went after rival gang member Brijesh Singh ever since he became an MLA in 1996. They clashed over the region's contract business. But in 2002, Krishnanand Rai, another BJP MLA, allegedly supported Brijesh.
In 2002, Mukhtar’s convoy was ambushed by Brijesh Singh. Three of Mukhtar’s men died while some from Brijesh Singh's gang also died. Brijesh Singh was critically injured. But he survived. In 2004, the UP State Task Force had internally warned of Mukhtar’s men purchasing light machine guns from international dealers.
In November 2005, Krishnanand Rai along with six other people, were killed in a daytime attack.
In 2010, Mukhtar was suspended from BSP due to his criminal activities. He then formed a new political party Quami Ekta Dal (QED). In 2016, news of Mukhtar’s party QED being merged with SP at the initiative of Shivpal Yadav triggered a rift with Akhilesh Yadav.
Akhilesh resented aligning with Mukhtar. He also cold shouldered Ateeq Ahmed at a rally. This led to a bitter feud with Shivpal that has since been resolved.
Ateeq, on the other hand, the retired officer said, was a well-behaved inmate. Never bent prison rules or throw his weight around. Did not ask for too many freebies. In fact, he would joke: “Main jail ki hi paidaish hun.” (I am a product of the jail.)
Addressing a political rally in Allahabad where Ateeq was out on parole, his followers turned out in large numbers — not because they were coerced to but because of his influence.
The BJP government wants to send out the signal it wants to rid the state of “goonda raj”. That does find resonance. I spoke with a carpet manufacturer in Bhadohi (UP), who said they suffered a lot during the SP regime. “There were blatant attempts made for land grab, extortion, thugs landing up at our manufacturing unit on the flimsiest of pretext,” he said. Other manufacturers too in that belt feel more secure under the BJP regime.
Ateeq Ahmed too has an interesting pedigree. He was elected as MLA from the Allahabad West seat for five consecutive times which is still a record. In 2004-09, he was elected as an SP MP from Phulpur in UP. From 1999-2003 he was the president of the Apna Dal.
The most sensational murder charge against him was that of BSP MLA Raju Pal, who had defeated his brother Ashraf in the 2004 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
On 8 August, 2002, Ateeq Ahmad was then an MLA and in jail due to political rivalry with then CM Mayawati. During a court appearance, he faced a bomb attack but survived. In 2014, he was taken back into the SP and fought the general elections from Shrawasti. He lost to the BJP.
On 14 December 2016, Ateeq and his henchmen allegedly assaulted the staff members of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences for taking action against two students who were debarred for cheating. The video went viral.
Azam Khan is a different breed of mobster. A well-known face of SP from Rampur, he has 80 legal cases against him related to land encroachment and criminal intimidation registered against him. There are several cases of land grab registered against the NGO ‘Jauhar Trust’ founded by Khan.
Azam Khan has been in jail for about two years on multiple charges. He had surrendered along with his wife Tanzeen Fatma, the MLA from the Rampur assembly seat, and son Abdullah Azam Khan, who is contesting on a Samajwadi Party ticket from the Suar constituency. Azam Khan is the Lok Sabha MP from Rampur.
Fortuitously, these elections have targeted the “goonda raj” by both BJP and SP. The BJP is, of course, pushing its election plank by saying — you got what you voted for.
Under duress to rid itself of the taint of being the pro-mafia lobby, the SP under Akhilesh has tried hard to distance itself from many of the heavies. Akhilesh knows the challenge for him is convincing the non-Yadav populace that he could be their messiah.
Yet, at times, past baggage may not be that simple to shed. It can stick like a limpet.
The author is CEO of nnis. Views expressed are personal.
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March 02, 2022 at 07:20PM
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