India seizes $46M in assets linked to slain Muslim politician
BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government permanently confiscates properties and bank deposits linked to Atiq Ahmed more than three years after he was shot dead while in police custody
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — The BJP-led government of India’s Uttar Pradesh state has permanently confiscated assets worth $46 million linked to slain Muslim politician and former lawmaker Atiq Ahmed, marking its biggest action against his estate since he was shot dead while in police custody more than three years ago.
The seizure includes properties valued at $35.7 million across Prayagraj, Lucknow and Kaushambi, along with more than $10.4 million held in 13 bank accounts.
State authorities said the assets, previously attached under India’s Gangsters Act, have now been permanently confiscated after the completion of legal proceedings.
Officials said the confiscated assets were registered in the names of Ahmed, his brother Ashraf Ahmed and his wife Shaista Parveen. Authorities maintain the properties were acquired through criminal proceeds and said the confiscation followed court-approved legal procedures.
Among the assets taken over by the state is Ahmed’s former office in Prayagraj’s Karbala neighborhood, valued at $2.1 million. The building had already been demolished by local authorities after it was declared an illegal structure.
Authorities also confiscated a residential plot worth $3.1 million registered in Ashraf’s name, as well as property belonging to Shaista Parveen.
Ahmed was a five-time state legislator from Allahabad West and later served as a member of India’s Parliament. Although he built his political career while facing numerous criminal cases, he remained an influential Muslim political figure in Uttar Pradesh for decades.
On April 15, 2023, he and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three gunmen posing as journalists while being escorted by police before television cameras in Prayagraj.
The brazen killings, carried out while both men were in police custody, drew international attention and raised questions about the rule of law in India.
The latest confiscation forms part of a broader campaign by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s Hindu supremacist government against Ahmed’s properties.
Since 2023, Uttar Pradesh authorities say they have demolished, attached or confiscated properties worth more than $124 million linked to Ahmed, his relatives and associates.
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