Prayagraj, 13 April: Every time a court hearing is scheduled, gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed is taken to Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh from Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat.
Two police vans and two escort cars are dispatched from Prayagraj to fetch Atiq Ahmed from Sabarmati Jail for the trial in the Umesh Pal case, and then to return him after the court adjourns. The gangster is taken on 2,550 km two-way trip.
The Uttar Pradesh government is spending nearly Rs 10 lakh to bring Atiq Ahmad from Sabarmati Jail before a Prayagraj court. The government pays Re 6 lakh on the salaries and dearness allowance (DA) of the 37 police officers who are assigned to transport Atiq. This value is based on four days’ salary after calculating their average wage and adding DA.
In addition, the cost of fuel is Re 3 lakh. A police van’s average mileage is 5 km/litre. Given this, one vehicle requires 255 litres of diesel one way. The cost is around Rs 25,000. Now that Atiq Ahmed is accompanied by two police vans, the cost of one side has risen to Rs 50,000.
The vehicle transports him from Prayagraj to the Sabarmati Jail and then back to Prayagraj. When the court hearings are completed, the vehicle transports him back to the Sabarmati Jail before returning to Prayagraj. As a result, the two vehicles make four trips, and the diesel costs roughly ?2 lakh.
Similarly, two police escorting vehicles follow, with an average mileage of 12km/litre. Each police escort car requires 107 litres of diesel for a one-way drive. The cost is around ?10,000. These cars, like the police vans that transport Atiq, make four rounds. The fuel cost for police escort cars is ?80,000.
For Atiq Ahmad’s commute, one Commanding Officer, one inspector, two sub-inspectors, six drivers, four head constables, and 23 constables have been assigned. The salary and dearness allowances for these cops total Re 6 lakh. Separate police squads have been deployed in addition to the Prayagraj Police. The Uttar Pradesh government is paying lakhs of rupees to transport Atiq Ahmad from Sabarmati Jail to Prayagraj and then return him.
But why is the government acting in this manner? Ahmed has been detained at the Sabarmati Jail since June 2019, after the Supreme Court ordered in April that the former MP from Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh be transferred to a high-security facility in Gujarat.
This happened after Atiq was accused of planning the kidnapping and assault of a real estate businessman, Mohit Jaiswal, while imprisoned in Uttar Pradesh.
While being moved to UP lately, Atiq Ahmed remarked, “I will convey to the government through you that I have already been buried in the ground (metaphorically), what else I can do now. Please keep my family at a safe distance.” Atiq Ahmed, who was previously synonymous with terror in Uttar Pradesh, is afraid of being killed in a fabricated police encounter. He expressed his gratitude to the media for keeping him safe.
