Prayagraj: Looking up at the sky with his hands extended in prayer, Mohammed Sharif witnessed as those around him conducted the last rites of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf. “There was a time when Atiq was the most dreaded gangster of Allahabad and now, he is a nobody. Life comes full circle,” he told ThePrint.
Hundreds of locals gathered on their terraces, some making videos and others offering prayers as they watched the final journey of Atiq and Ashraf, who were laid to rest in the presence of large numbers of police personnel at the Kasari Masari graveyard Sunday.
The deployment of police force was made hours before the burial at the graveyard located about a kilometre from Atiq Ahmed’s now-demolished house in Chakia colony.
Atiq’s two minor sons attended the burial but his wife Shaista Parveen was missing. Parveen, who carries a reward of Rs 50,000 announced by the Uttar Pradesh Police, has been absconding since she was named as an accused in the Umesh Pal murder case.
A five-time MLA and one-term MP, Atiq and his brother Ashraf were shot dead by three armed men while in police custody as they were being taken to the Prayagraj Medical College for medical examination. The three assailants were arrested from the spot.
On Sunday morning, labourers were put to work to dig adjoining graves for the brothers at Kasari Masari while their bodies were sent to the Calvin hospital for post mortem. This is the same graveyard where the Atiq Ahmed’s parents are buried.
Top police officers led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Alok Singh were present at the site since two hours before the funeral. No one was allowed to enter the graveyard without showing their Aadhaar card; men and women both were frisked before entry.
Security personnel scrutinised all — those with packets of fruit and water for iftaar, others hoping to offer prayers.
“There is no cap on the number of people participating in the funeral but the situation is sensitive so we cannot afford to take any risk. We are letting everyone inside after checking them,” ACP Singh told ThePrint, before the bodies were brought there for the burial.
The bodies of the two brothers were finally brought to the Kasari Masari graveyard at around 6.30 pm. This was followed by a stream of about a dozen relatives who arrived there to attend the burial.
Residents of Chakia colony, where Atiq lived, were upset that they could not see him one last time. “They should have at least allowed us to offer a last namaz for him,” said one Badhshah.
The story of Atiq Ahmed, a history-sheeter with nearly 130 cases against him and a conviction and life imprisonment sentence in an abduction case, ended on a muted note.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
Also read: ‘It was over in 30 seconds’ — eyewitnesses recall fatal attack on Atiq Ahmed, Ashraf in Prayagraj