Atiq’s conviction will restore people’s faith in the law but the fight against crime should be systemic and systematic
Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad’s conviction and life imprisonment on Tuesday will surely bolster the image of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as a leader who is committed to checking crime in the country’s largest state. The fact that Ahmad’s career as a criminal ends in accordance with the process of law is very important. In a state which has gained some notoriety because of its cops’ proclivity for encounters, this is indeed a welcome change. Atiq had expressed fear on Sunday that he might be killed in an encounter like another gangster, Vikas Dubey, was in July 2020. Ahmad was being taken by road to Prayagraj from Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail. That didn’t happen. Ahmad and two other accused Dinesh Pasi and Khan Saulat Haneef were found guilty in the 2006 kidnapping case of lawyer Umesh Pal. Pal was a key witness to a 2005 murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA murder. Last month, Pal was allegedly killed by some gunmen, including Atiq’s son Asad. UP Government and Bharatiya Janata Party supporters may gloat over Atiq Ahmad’s conviction, but they must realise that a great deal more needs to be done. For them, it is not the time to rest on their laurels but to ensure that the fight against crime is not episodic but systemic and systematic.
The response of Pal’s family to Ahmad’s conviction speaks volumes about people's expectations from government. While welcoming the conviction, Pal’s widow and mother made it clear that they wanted nothing less than a death sentence for the gangster-turned-politician. They almost alluded to the desirability of an encounter. This is understandable from the family members of a person who was gunned down by the henchmen of a mafia don; but the problem is that there are a large number of people who are so exasperated with the glacial pace of the process of law that they support extrajudicial killings. In the instant case too, the law took its course, but that involved a lot of time, 17 long years. Sometimes, it takes even longer. There was a recent verdict, resulting in the acquittal of the accused after 34 years. This was not from a remote part of the country involving ordinary people; it was about an alleged attempt on the life of tycoon Nusli Wadia in Mumbai. The acquittal was on account of want of evidence. At the heart of the problem is the lack of administrative, police, and judicial reforms. Now that the BJP is in power both at the Centre and in UP, it can very well expedite these reforms. Senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily headed the Second Administrative Reforms Commission prepared 15 reports, the last of which came out in April 2009. It is time to dust those reports and implement the parts which are relevant. And if there are major lacunae, the ruling dispensation can have another panel to recommend administrative reforms. Ditto with police and judicial reforms.