Atiq’s gang lost Rs 300 crore in crackdown since August

Prayagraj: The crackdown against jailed mafia don and ex-MP Atiq Ahmad by police, district administration and Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA), especially since August month, has resulted in loss of over Rs 300 crore for him and his henchmen.
Police have severely dented the don’s economic empire and hit his armoury through suspension or cancellation of arm licences. SP (City) Dinesh Kumar Singh told TOI on Sunday, “The crackdown against jailed mafia don-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad’s properties accumulated through illegal means is continuing.”
“Till now, we have demolished seven properties owned or constructed by Atiq or his henchmen. We also attached 13 properties worth over Rs 300 crore in the district,” he added.
The action against gangs and gangsters to check organized crime will go on against all the men on radar, especially Atiq Ahmad and Dilip Mishra.
Police had also attached 12 properties of gangster Dilip Mishra in the trans-Yamuna area. After investigating and compiling documents that expose the wealth accumulated by Atiq and his henchmen in Civil Lines, Mehdauri, Kareli, Khuldabad, Lukerganj, Andhawa Crossing road, Roshan Bagh, Kareli, Chakia, Jhalwa, police have further chalked out a plan to attach properties and demolish illegal structures besides initiating their confiscation under Gangsters Act, the SP said.
Many illegal constructions by Atiq’s henchmen in Mehdauri and Bajupur were razed and government land freed. We have also smashed the networking of jailed don, Singh added.
In 2007, police had razed Atiq’s office in Khuldabad area. On Sunday, a joint team of police, district administration and Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) freed two plots of 4350.22 square metres and 2680.95 square metres in Lukerganj.
It was nazul land that had been grabbed by the Atiq gang.
On September 11, police, district administration and PDA teams had razed five illegal structures on 5,000 square-metre land at Mehdauri in Shivkuti police station area. The houses were built by Atiq’s close relative Hamza Usman.
On September 10, police had attached three properties of Atiq at Khuldabad worth crores of rupees after a probe found they were allegedly accumulated through illegal means.
Illegal properties of Atiq and his henchmen were also targeted on September 5, 7 and 8. “We have identified over two dozen properties accumulated by Atiq through illegal means. Majority of them are in the city's west locality. We have been taking concrete steps of seizure, demolition and attachment of the properties.We have also taken steps to attach the cold storage owned by the jailed don at Andhawa in the trans-Ganga area,” said a senior officer.