Relative of Ateeq Ahmad sent to judicial custody after CBI arrest

A Lucknow court has sent Zaki Ahmad, a relative of former Samajwadi Party MP Ateeq Ahmad, to judicial custody Thursday after his arrest by the CBI in a case of abduction and assault of a businessman, officials said here.

Zaki Ahmad, the brother-in-law of Ateeq Ahmad, was taken into custody after searches at his residence in Allahabad on Wednesday.

They said Rs 8 lakh in cash was also seized from Zaki Ahmad.

The searches were conducted at four places in Allahabad -- at the residences of Ahmad, his son Mohammed Umer and his associates Zaki Ahmed and Farooq.

The residences of his Chartered Accountant Nitesh Mishra and his alleged aide Pawan Kumar Singh were searched in Lucknow, they said.

Ahmad was booked on June 12, 2019 on the allegation that he had demanded extortion money from a Lucknow-based real estate dealer, Mohit Jaiswal, in December 2018 from Deoria Jail where the former MP was lodged.

Zaki was alleged to be active participant in the crime who had threatened Jaiswal and put pressure on him to transfer his four companies worth Rs 45 crore in his name, they said.

The businessman has alleged that on December 26, 2018, he was taken in his own sports utility vehicle (SUV) by one of Ahmad's goons to Deoria Jail, where the former MP was lodged.

Ahmad's son Umar and 10-12 other gang members were also present in the jail, who beat him up, causing serious injuries to him, Jaiswal had alleged.

Four of his companies, including MJ Infra Housing Private Limited, were transferred in the name of Farooq and Zaki, who had been threatening him, he had alleged.

They had also taken his signatures on his company letterhead in the jail, Jaiswal had claimed.

The former parliamentarian was later transferred to Sabarmati Prison in Gujarat on the orders of the Supreme Court.

In a report submitted through senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, appointed as amicus curiae (friend of court), the state government had said there were 109 cases registered against Ahmad from 1979 to 2019, including 17 murder cases, 12 cases under the UP Gangster Act, eight under the Arms Act and four under the UP Goondas Act.