LUCKNOW, 8 August — Uttar Pradesh legislator Atiq Ahmad, whom Chief Minister Mayawati last week named as a prime suspect in a conspiracy to kill her, was yesterday seriously injured in a bomb attack at Allahabad, 180 km from here.
A suspected gangster currently lodged in the Naini jail, Atiq was attacked when he was being taken to a court under police escort, police said here. He was due to appear before a court in one of the many criminal cases against him. One of the attackers, Ekhlaq Ahmad was arrested on the spot, police said.
"He (Atiq) was rushed to the hospital where prompt medical attendance saved his life," Inspector General of Police O.P. Dixit said. "He is out of danger."
Atiq’s supporters took to the streets as the news of the attack spread, stoning the local police station and burning an effigy of Mayawati. Atiq had earlier quit former Defense Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party and created the fringe Apna Dal party.
Last week, Mulayam’s younger brother and Samjawadi Party General Secretary Shiv Pal Yadav met Atiq at Naini jail here, sparking speculation that he could return to the fold. On Saturday, Mayawati held a press conference and alleged that Atiq and another alleged mobster Brijesh Singh were conspiring to kill her.
Atiq issued a statement from the jail denying the charge and countered by accusing Mayawati of trying to kill him.
"By cooking up stories about her own murder plot, she is trying to build ground to get me killed," Atiq had said on Sunday.
Samajwadi leader Azam Khan blamed Mayawati for the attack on Atiq.