From a loyal homemaker to now the ‘godmother’ of late mafioso Atiq Ahmed’s gang ‘IS-227’, Shaista Parveen has emerged because the darkish horse previously decade. Whilst authorities and media reviews proceed to carry out new particulars about Shaista and her involvement in unlawful actions, the 51-year-old spouse of slain gangster, who’s at giant, remains an enigma to the state police.
Shaista, who selected to stay behind a niqab (a veil masking the face) for the higher half of her married life, switched to hijab (which covers simply the top and chest) and began taking care of enterprise affairs following the confinement of all of the influential males in her household. She is presently believed to be guarding her husband’s unlawful empire — comprising benami properties and shell firms — which is estimated to be value tons of of crores. The precise web value of the empire is but to be decided although.
“Within the final three years, properties value over ₹416.92 crore belonging to Atiq and his kin have been seized. However, illegally-constructed properties by the household value over ₹752.27 crore have been demolished by the police and different district authorities. Moreover, police have additionally found properties value over ₹1,169.20 crore whereas probing the circumstances towards Atiq and his associates. Shaista is determined to shield what’s left of his husband’s unlawful empire,” stated a senior police official.
For the reason that assassination of Atiq and his brother Khalid Azeem (Ashraf) and the encounter killing of Atiq’s son Asad, police groups have been frantically conducting raids to nab Shaista, who has circumstances of critical offences filed towards her, however solely in useless. At current, she carries a reward of ₹50,000.
To evade arrest, she didn’t even attend the funeral rites of her son Asad, her husband Atiq, and brother-in-law Ashraf. Police even checked all burqa-clad ladies through the burials to test for Shaista’s presence there. In the previous couple of days, Shaista’s areas have been traced to Naini and Dhumanganj areas of Prayagraj to small villages within the neighbouring Kaushambi district. Cops are finishing up steady raids and questioning ladies who had been shut to her to discover out extra about her whereabouts. “The truth that she has been ready to evade dozens of police groups looking for her shouldn’t be underestimated,” stated a police officer.
Determined for her arrest, police are holding an eye on the actions of those that have historically been the financers of Atiq. After receiving inputs that Shaista could have taken shelter in villages alongside the banks of Ganga in Prayagraj and Kaushambi, police groups carried out raids and searched some properties there. Nevertheless, Shaista and different ladies of Atiq’s household weren’t discovered there.
Now, police groups are finishing up combing operations within the wetlands of Ganga and are additionally taking the assistance of drones to hint Shaista’s whereabouts. Some ladies, who had been shut to Shaista, have been questioned and their actions are below watch, officers additional stated. Search operations have additionally been launched in Hatwa, Sallahpur, Mariadih, Asrauli, Ujahni, and different villages within the area.
Moreover, cops in plain garments have additionally been deployed on the Kasari Masari graveyard, the place Atiq, Asad, and Ashraf are buried. Police officers suspect that Shaista and Zainab, Ashraf’s spouse, could attempt to go to the graves of their husbands. Officers are additionally monitoring the actions round Rajrooppur kids’s house of Prayagraj, the place the 2 minor sons of Atiq and Shaista are lodged since March 3 once they had been discovered wandering within the metropolis by the police.
Even the members of the family who haven’t been booked are additionally below the radar in a bid to zero in on Shaista. “Opposite to the social media chatter, we consider she remains to be within the Prayagraj area as she has the utmost assist base right here,” stated a senior police official.
Youth
A resident of Damupur village in Allahabad West constituency, Shaista is the eldest amongst 4 sisters and two brothers. Shaista accomplished her education at Kidwai Ladies Memorial Inter Faculty in Prayagraj. She went on to pursue commencement subsequently. Whereas Shaista’s father Harun Ahmad is a retired police constable, her two brothers are posted as madrasa principals. She spent her childhood in Pratapgarh the place her father was posted as a constable.
In 1996, Shaista was married to Atiq Ahmed. She had 5 sons however her third eldest son Asad was killed in an encounter with U.P. STF in Jhansi on April 13. Her two elder sons Umar and Ali are lodged in jail whereas the 2 youthful ones have been put in a authorities facility. None of her sons are married. One of Shaista’s kin, who just isn’t named in any prison circumstances, says that Shaista was a hands-on mom and by no means even missed parent-teacher conferences on the high English-medium faculty the place her sons studied. Shaista used to hold a watch on the actions of her sons, particularly the three youthful ones, together with Asad who carried out effectively academically.
“Along with her face lined in niqab and all the time within the background of her mafia husband, Shaista was hardly ever seen in public,” stated one other senior police officer. Until only a few months again, police even didn’t have a correct {photograph} of her. They managed to get a number of of her pictures solely from the objects left behind in her rented lodging in Chakia, which was demolished in March on account of “unlawful development”.
Rise to prominence
When her husband and brother-in-law had been on the forefront, Shaista was identified to go to solely household capabilities or instant neighbours, stated a senior police officer. “Nevertheless, with most grown-up males of her instant household in jail, she step by step began to assert herself. She held press conferences, joined All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) within the presence of its chief Asaduddin Owaisi in September 2021, and later, joined Bahujan Samaj Social gathering (BSP) in January 2023 — all to present a approach out to the lads of her household who had been going through tough instances regardless of efforts of Atiq Ahmed, a five-time legislator and one-time parliamentarian. In truth, she was touted to be BSP’s mayoral candidate however the get together retracted its resolution after her involvement within the Umesh Pal homicide got here to the fore,” the official added.
Following Atiq’s arrest in 2017, Shaista acted as the primary guardian of the youngsters. That is evident from her signatures on the educational paperwork and affidavits which had been discovered within the rented home the place she was staying for the previous over one yr in Chakia locality.
“Shaista remained a loyal housewife and mom for many of her married life. She bought concerned in dealing with the unlawful companies solely after Atiq, her brother-in-law Ashraf, and two eldest sons Umar and Ali bought locked up in numerous circumstances,” stated former police officer Lalji Shukla, who served as SP (metropolis) in Prayagraj (then Allahabad) between April 1998 and September 2003 and retired as Inspector Normal of Police (IG) in 2015.
Supporting claims of police officers that Shaista is slowly taking management of her husband’s gang whereas observing her Iddat, the interval of 4 lunar months and 10 days {that a} lady should observe after the loss of life of her husband, Lalji Shukla added that Shaista remained a revered determine for Atiq’s household and gang members and instructions nice respect amongst Atiq’s followers. “At a time when all the lads in her household are both jailed or useless, Shaista is the one one who has the assist and the calibre to take command of the gang and its belongings,” he additional stated.
On the run
In accordance to police, Shaista is consistently altering her location to evade arrest. Police officers suspect that Shaista might be in contact together with her CA and attorneys to declare Atiq’s movable and immovable belongings value a number of hundred crores. “She can be attempting to handle the benami properties and funds which can be mendacity with Atiq’s companions in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Mumbai, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and different locations,” stated a senior police official.
“Shaista is aware of very effectively that when arrested, she could have to spend a very long time in jail for her involvement in Umesh Pal’s homicide conspiracy and different prison circumstances lodged towards her. Earlier than her arrest or give up, she desires to take management over Atiq’s properties and funds which can assist her in securing bail and contesting the circumstances of her sons lodged in jail,” declare police officers. Cops add that Atiq’s outdated and trusted associates are nonetheless serving to her in evading arrest and are additionally financing her.
In accordance to police information, Shaista has 4 prison circumstances registered towards her at Colonelganj and Dhumanganj police stations of Prayagraj. The primary three circumstances filed at Colonelganj police station date again to 2009. They’re filed below completely different sections of the IPC, together with 420, 467, 468 and 471 and part 30 of the Arms Act. In these three circumstances, chargesheets have been lodged by the police on the court docket of particular chief judicial Justice of the Peace, Prayagraj (then Allahabad). The fourth case was registered towards her on February 24, 2023, at Dhumanganj police station. It issues the daylight killing of lawyer Umesh Pal and his two police guards in Prayagraj and has been lodged below the related sections of the IPC.
