The gangster who was standing when the verdict was being pronounced, got absolutely shocked when he was given the life sentence and seated himself to let the judgment sink in, says district government counsel (criminal), Gulab Chandra Agrahri, who was present throughout the court proceedings on Tuesday.
02:19
Prayagraj court convicts Atiq Ahmed in Umesh Pal abduction case
“In a long criminal history with more than 100 cases, he has been convicted for the first time by a court. It is a historic moment, which ultimately proves that the rule of law is supreme in our country,” he adds.
00:17
Umesh Pal abduction case: Why this man wants to garland Atiq Ahmed with ‘chappals’
“It was a rare sight for those present inside the court, who have been so habitual of his excesses in the city for over decades,” says another lawyer, adding “it’s a combination of multiple factors — gradual dissipation of the fear factor that he and his gang commanded not very long ago and of course a growing sense of exasperation among people who were so fed up with the way his gang would commit crime and got away with it”.
While a large number of lawyers assembled at the MP/MLA court started shouting ‘Vakilon ke Hatyaro ko, phansi Phansi do’ (death for the killers of lawyers) as Atiq and other accused entered the premises, one lawyer had brought a garland made of shoes to ‘greet’ him after conviction. Atiq turned his head towards slogan-shouters but was pushed by policemen to proceed.
Lawyer Varun Dev Pal, who had brought a ‘garland of shoes’ for Atiq, was not allowed to enter the courtroom due to the tight security arrangements, he kept the shoes’ garland in his hand, repeatedly saying that those who kill lawyers should be welcomed with the shoe.
Claiming to be the brother of Umesh Pal, he said: “If today, had I been permitted to garland Atiq with shoes, the message would have gone throughout the country that criminals should be humiliated like this”.
This is being viewed as a cascading effect of the crackdown Yogi Adityanath has unleashed against Atiq, Mukhtar and other gangsters. In the past six years, Atiq’s assets and properties worth over Rs 1,100 have either been razed or confiscated.
“This exposed the vulnerability of gangsters like Atiq,” says a political analyst. “He faces over 100 criminal cases, but there has been no conviction so far thanks to hostile witnesses or botched-up probe. But this was a rare case where the witness remained firm till the very end”.