Old-timers and political pundits from the two UP districts recall how mafia-turned-politicians Mukhtar Ansari and Atiq Ahmed used to play an active role in deciding the fate of the candidates in fray
by Dr. Jaipal Singh While working on this piece, the first thing that came to author’s mind was a Bollywood movie Vaastav (The Reality) of 1999 vintage based on harsh realities of the Mumbai underworld. The film starts with the funeral rites of the protagonist on the bank of a river by his family
Last month, Atiq Ahmed, one of India's most dreaded gangster-politicians, was shot dead live on TV along with his brother. The grisly murder marked the end of his four-decade-long reign of terror in Prayagraj, a city once known for its rich culture. Soutik Biswas in New Delhi and Vikas Pandey in Prayagraj piece together Ahmed's tumultuous life, in which the boundaries between crime and politics became blurred.