The Allahabad High Court today dismissed a petition filed by jailed mafia don-turned- politician Atiq Ahmed, who had challenged his transfer from a prison here to Deoria district in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Harsh Kumar dismissed the petition, observing that "the state government has the power to transfer a prisoner from one jail to another".
Ahmed had been shifted to Deoria from the Naini Central Jail here earlier this month, shortly after the BJP assumed power in the state.
He had challenged his transfer on the ground that he was named in a number of cases in Allahabad which requires his appearance before courts here and his being lodged in a far- off place would cause problems.
Named in over a dozen serious criminal cases, Ahmed was arrested in February this year for barging inside the premises of an agricultural institute here along with a number of supporters and beating up staff members who opposed their unlawful entry.
A five-time MLA from Allahabad (West) and a one-time MP from Phulpur, Ahmed -- who is the prime accused in the murder of BSP legislator Raju Pal which is being investigated by the CBI -- had been denied a ticket by the Samajwadi Party as part of former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's efforts to boost the image of the party ahead of assembly polls, in which the SP suffered a humiliating defeat.
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