The continuing investigations into the Atiq Ahmad saga are revealing many layers, causing a huge scare among officials and businessmen across the globe. The identification of properties and business links of Atiq has exposed his network in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and MP. Areas where his empire spread include real estate, diamond mines, hotel business, and dairies through his partners. Besides Prayagraj, Lucknow, and Noida, many such properties, including residential, commercial, and office spaces, are located in ShaheenBagh, Okhla, and Jamia Nagar in Delhi. Properties worth more than Rs 11,000 crore belonging to Atiq and his family have been seized so far.
LIQUOR SCAM HAUNTS CHHATTISGARH
The ED disclosure of an alleged liquor scam and related money laundering has created ripples in Chhattisgarh, as the names that have cropped up in this connection have been influential individuals for more than a decade in Raipur. The ED has estimated the scam to be worth Rs 2000 crores and has been continuing since 2019. Among those said to be involved are an IAS officer, the Raipur Mayor, and the latter’s brother, but officers who had been close to the former regime are also jittery as further investigations might reveal more names. Earlier, a liquor scandal and related money laundering in Delhi’s AAP government had led to the arrest of two ministers.
ECHOES OF PRE-AAP MOVEMENT
The possibility of the emergence of an alternative to the current political parties in Bihar is now being acknowledged by a wide section of people as more bureaucrats, lawyers, doctors, engineers, and other professionals are joining the Jan Suraj Abhiyan launched by political strategist-turned politician Prashant Kishore. In the latest move, six former IAS officers and 12 former IPS officers have joined the movement. The development has brought back memories of a similar social movement launched a decade ago under the banner of ‘India Against Corruption’ that led to the emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party. However, while IAC leader Anna Hazare has maintained apolitical motives, the JSA has made its political ambitions clear from the beginning.