Won't be surprised if Atiq Ahmed's vehicle also overturns: BJP MP Subrat Pathak
Lucknow (UP), Mar 1: BJP Lok Sabha MP Subrat Pathak on Wednesday said he would not be surprised if Atiq Ahmed's vehicle overturns like that of gangster Vikas Dubey.
Dubey was gunned down in July 2020 by the Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh police shortly after a police SUV in which he was being brought to Kanpur from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh overturned under mysterious circumstances on a highway. Police claimed that he had tried to flee.
It happened just a week after eight policemen, including DSP Devendra Mishra, were ambushed in Bikru village in Kanpur when they were going to arrest Dubey and fell to bullets shortly after midnight on July 3.
Atiq Ahmed, who is lodged in a Gujarat jail, has been booked in the last week's sensational killing of Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 murder of the then BSP MLA Raju Pal, and two security personnel in Prayagraj.
Pathak, who is MP from Kannauj, tweeted, "The killing of Umesh Pal and police security personnel under the protection of the Uttar Pradesh Police is a direct attack on the government of Uttar Pradesh."
"Remember, if Vikas Dubey could not survive there is no need to tell what will happen to these criminals, and now if the vehicle of Atiq also overturns, I will not be surprised," he wrote in Hindi.
On Wednesday, Atiq Ahmed moved the Supreme Court for protection, claiming that he and his family have been falsely "roped in" as accused in the Umesh Pal murder case in Prayagraj and he may be killed in a fake encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Police during any transit remand.
In his plea, Ahmed, who is presently lodged at the central jail Ahmedabad in Gujarat, has referred to the statement made by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the floor of the Assembly to "completely ruin and destroy" him and claimed there is a "genuine and perceptible threat" to his and his family members' lives.
Subrat Pathak who once headed the youth wing of the BJP in the state gained prominence after defeating Dimple Yadav, wife of Samajwadi President Akhilesh Yadav, from Kannauj in the 2019 general elections.
"These criminals do not understand the language of the law. They're not one or two but hundreds of cases against them, but they misuse it and sit in jail and have biryani," he later told TV channels, adding that such criminals only understand the language of the gun.
"Such criminals have no place in Uttar Pradesh, especially under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who was elected by the people of Uttar Pradesh on the issue of security," he said.
Based on the complaint filed by Umesh Pal's wife Jaya Pal, police has lodged an FIR at the Dhoomanganj police station on Saturday against former MP Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, Atiq's accomplices Guddu Muslim and Das and other accomplices.
Arbaaz, an accused in the case, was killed in an encounter with the police on Monday. Dhoomanganj police station SHO Rajesh Maurya was also injured in the incident.
In his plea, Atiq Ahmed said the Uttar Pradesh Police in all likelihood will seek his transit remand and also police remand to take him from Ahmedabad to Prayagraj and he "genuinely apprehends that he may be eliminated during this transit period".
Ahmed, 61, has sought directions to the Centre, the state of Uttar Pradesh and others to protect his life against the "open, direct and immediate threat" to his life from high state functionaries of Uttar Pradesh.
उत्तर प्रदेश पुलिस की सुरक्षा में उमेश पाल सहित पुलिस सुरक्षाकर्मी की हत्या सीधे उत्तर प्रदेश की सरकार पर हमला है याद रखो जब विकास दुबे नहीं बचा तो इन दुर्दांतों का क्या होगा ये बताने की आवश्यकता नहीं है , और अब यदि गाड़ी अतीक की भी पलट जाय तो मुझे कोई आश्चर्य नहीं होगा ।
— Subrat Pathak (@SubratPathak12) March 1, 2023
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T'gana RTC strike: Talks between govt, employees successful
Hyderabad (PTI): Talks between employees of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (RTC) who were on strike and the state government concluded successfully on Friday as the government agreed to the key demands of the workmen.
Following a day-long marathon of talks between the leaders of the employees' Joint Action Committee (JAC) and the cabinet sub-committee, the government announced after midnight that it acceded to the demands, including a merger of RTC with the government, 11 per cent pay revision and elections to the employees' unions.
A committee comprising officials and employee leaders would be appointed over the merger of RTC with the government, it said.
The RTC management has also agreed to address the remaining issues as well, an official release said.
The employees would call off their strike and the RTC buses would hit the roads shortly, it said.
The employees had been on an indefinite strike since April 22 over a series of demands, including the merger of RTC with the government.
Earlier in the day, a driver of the RTC, who attempted suicide on April 23 during the strike, died at a hospital here in the early hours of Friday.
Shankar Goud, a 55-year-old driver, set himself ablaze by pouring petrol at Narsampet in Warangal district when the employees were staging a protest on Thursday in support of their demands.
Goud suffered serious burns, was initially admitted to a state-run hospital in Warangal, and later shifted to a super-speciality hospital in Hyderabad for advanced treatment.
"He succumbed (to injuries) at about 1.30 am on Friday," a senior official said.
The driver’s body was taken to his relative’s village, Muttojipet in Warangal district, for funeral rites.
Tension prevailed in Muttojipet as his family members and RTC employees attempted to take the body to the Narsampet bus station, where he worked, to enable his colleagues to pay their last respects. However, police did not permit this, citing law-and-order concerns.
This led to a deadlock before the funeral could proceed.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar criticised the Telangana government for not allowing the body to be taken to the Narsampet bus station.
Kumar, Minister of State (Home), visited Muttojipet village in Warangal district, where the funeral was held, and paid homage to Goud.
“They (family members) want to take the body to the bus depot for five minutes. Is the RTC bus depot in Pakistan or Bangladesh? They are emotionally attached to taking the body there. The government is hurting sentiments and creating fear among RTC employees,” Kumar told reporters.
He also expressed anger at the police for not allowing the body to be taken to the bus station and staged a protest, according to a release from his office.
RTC employees and BJP workers attempted to take the mortal remains in an ambulance to Narsampet, but were stopped by the police.
Later, after discussions with the police, the family members and RTC employees agreed to conduct the funeral in the village.
Sanjay Kumar, stating he would abide by the family’s decision, left the village after the funeral was conducted there.
Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh, a house, and a government job would be provided to the kin of Goud.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed shock over the employee’s death and conveyed deep condolences to the grieving family, according to the release.
The RTC employees’ JAC had earlier announced an agitation programme from April 24 to 29, including silent marches and submission of memorandums to MLAs and other leaders.
