Kidnapped, Forced To Sign Property Papers In Jail: Lucknow Businessman

After a Lucknow-based businessman alleged that he was kidnapped last week and taken to a prison complex in eastern Uttar Pradesh where he was forced to hand over property worth crores to a Samajwadi Party, the state government has taken action, ordering that the mafia-turned-politician be shifted to a different jail.

"Approval has been given for shifting undertrial Atiq Ahmed, who is currently lodged in Deoria district jail, to Bareilly district jail on administrative grounds," an order issued by the state prisons department read.

Mohit Jaiswal told the police that he was kidnapped from outside his home in Lucknow on December 26, driven in his own SUV to the Deoria jail. He said he was taken inside the jail complex and made to meet Atiq Ahmed. In the First Information Report, Mr Jaiswal alleges that he was assaulted by Mr Ahmed and his supporters, forced to sign papers to handover his property worth Rs. 40 crore before he was let off.

The businessman alleged that he was assaulted by Atiq Ahmed, his son and others inside the jail complex.

All of this, according to the complainant, happened inside the jail complex and in full knowledge of the prison staff.

Atiq Ahmed is named in over 70 cases ranging from murder to kidnapping and extortion.

The Deoria jail administration has admitted that a person by the name of Mohit Jaiswal did meet with Atiq Ahmed inside the jail at around 11 am on December 26, but claims that the jail staff had no idea that he was kidnapped or under any kind of coercion.

"All that I have to say is that Mohit Jaiswal had come to meet Atiq Ahmed on December 26. The meeting took place as per the jail rules. I have no information on whether he was kidnapped and forced to come here or assaulted. He didn't tell anyone about it while leaving," said Deoria jailer DK Pandey.

The CCTV footage at the Deoria jail seems to be tampered with, the District Magistrate said.

The top officer in Deoria said that according to preliminary investigation, the CCTV footage inside the jail was tampered with. "The police searched all the barracks. It seems that the CCTV recording  has been tampered with... some parts of the footage are missing," Deoria District Magistrate Amit Kishore told reporters. 

The Uttar Pradesh government has asked the top prison officer of Deoria jail to submit a report by today to identify those responsible for the lapse.

Mr Ahmed is named in over 70 cases ranging from murder to kidnapping and extortion. He was shifted from the Allahabad jail to Deoria last year. One of the cases is the murder of Raju Pal, a Bahujan Samaj Party legislator, in 2005.

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