File photo of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed being brought from Sabarmati Central Jail to a Prayagraj court in the Umesh Pal murder case, in Ahmedabad on April 11, 2023

Atiq Ahmed was a notorious gangster turned politician from Uttar Pradesh, India. He was born in 1962 in Allahabad and rose to infamy in the 1980s and 1990s as the leader of a criminal gang known as the Atiq Ahmed gang. The gang was involved in a wide range of illegal activities including extortion, kidnapping, murder, and land grabbing.

Despite being implicated in over 100 criminal cases, Atiq Ahmed entered politics in the early 2000s and became a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Allahabad West constituency in 2002. He later founded his own political party, the Apna Dal, and was elected as an MLA again in 2007 and 2012.

Throughout his political career, Atiq Ahmed remained embroiled in controversy, with allegations of corruption, violence, and intimidation. He was accused of using his political clout to shield himself from prosecution and expand his criminal empire.

On the 15th of August 2021, Atiq Ahmed was shot dead in a police encounter in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria district. The police claimed that Ahmed had opened fire on them during a raid, and they had retaliated in self-defense. His death marked the end of a controversial and often violent career that spanned several decades.