Prayagraj: Former MP and muscleman Atiq Ahmed's plea, seeking exemption from being personally present in court, has been rejected by the MP-MLA court here. It also asked him to appear in-person before the court on November 13.
Ahmed, who is presently lodged in Sabarmati jail in Ahmedabad in a murder case, had filed a petition seeking exemption from personal appearance in the court. He had appealed for hearing via video conferencing citing Prayagraj's distance from Gujarat and his poor health conditions.
He also told the court that he feared an encounter along the way but the court rejected his petition.
Last month, a joint team of the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA), district administration and police, demolished a house belonging to Ahmed here as part of its drive against his unauthorized properties.
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The house that was demolished was worth Rs 30 crore and was built illegally on around 700 square metre of land, the officials said. While carrying out the demolition, the officials of the joint team had to face stiff resistance from a group of lawyers and the former lawmaker’s supporters who raised objection over the exercise and created ruckus on the Chakia Road in the city.
Several properties of mafia dons, including Mukhtar Ansari and Ateeq Ahmad, have been razed by the state government in recent months in multiple locations across several districts.
