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{{Short description|Indian politician (1965-2023)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Khalid Azim
| image =
| caption =
| office = Member of the [[Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly]]
| term_start = 2005
| term_end = 2007
| predecessor = [[Raju Pal]]
| successor = [[Pooja Pal]]
| constituency = [[Prayagraj West Assembly constituency|Prayagraj West]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1975|4|29|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Prayagraj]], Uttar Pradesh, India
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|4|15|1975|4|29|df=y}}
| death_cause = [[Assassination]]
| death_place = [[Prayagraj]], Uttar Pradesh, India
| party = [[Samajwadi Party]]
| module = {{infobox criminal
| child = yes
| criminal_charge = [[Murder]], [[Threat|threats]], [[extortion]], [[Kidnapping]] and [[land grabbing]]
| conviction_penalty =
| spouse = Zainab Fatima<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bhandari |first1=Shashwat |title=UP govt demolishes house of gangster Atiq Ahmed's brother Ashraf's wife in Prayagraj |url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/uttar-pradesh/atiq-ahmed-brother-ashraf-wife-house-demolished-in-prayagraj-by-up-cm-yogi-govt-in-action-against-gangster-latest-news-2024-06-20-937872 |publisher=[[India TV]] |date=June 20, 2024}}</ref>
}}
| other_party =
| alma_mater = [[Ewing Christian College]]
| relatives = [[Atiq Ahmed|Atiq Ahmad]] (brother)
| children = 4
}}
'''Khalid Azim''', also known as '''Ashraf''' or '''Ashraf Ahmad'''<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dhar |first1=Aniruddha |title='I will be killed in…': Atiq Ahmed's brother allegedly threatened by 'officer' |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/i-will-be-killed-in-atiq-ahmed-s-brother-threatened-by-officer-101680048462480.html |publisher=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=March 29, 2023}}</ref> (29 April 1975 - 15 April 2023), was an Indian politician who had a criminal background. He served as a Member of [[Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly]] from the [[Prayagraj West Assembly constituency|Prayagraj West]] constituency. He faced 54 criminal cases, including [[murder]], [[Threat|threats]], [[extortion]], [[Kidnapping|abduction]], and land grabbing offenses under various sections of the [[Indian Penal Code]].<ref name="hindustan"/> He was one of the prime accused in the murder of [[Bahujan Samaj Party|BSP]] MLA [[Raju Pal]], and the charges were abated after his death.<ref>{{cite news |title=BSP MLA Raju Pal murder: 6 sentenced to life imprisonment |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/india/delhi/bsp-mla-raju-pal-murder-6-sentenced-to-life-imprisonment-2958034 |publisher=[[Deccan Herald]] |date=March 30, 2024}}</ref>

He was the brother of [[Atiq Ahmed|Atiq Ahmad]], a [[gangster]] turned [[politician]] who also served as a parliamentarian. He was a member of Atiq Ahmad's IS-227 gang and was considered to be Ahmad's right-hand man by police records.<ref name="hindustan">{{cite news |title=Lived & died in brother Atiq's shadow, Ashraf led a life of crime |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others/khalid-azeem-aka-ashraf-feared-gangster-in-prayagraj-shot-dead-on-live-tv-with-brother-atiq-ahmed-involved-in-54-criminal-cases-prayagraj-gangster-crime-101681835012406.html |publisher=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=19 April 2023}}</ref>

== Political career ==
Khalid Azim, who was affiliated with the [[Samajwadi Party]], contested the 2005 legislative by-election for the Prayagraj West constituency. The seat had become vacant when his brother Atiq Ahmed was elected as a [[Member of parliament|Member of Parliament]] from [[Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency|Phulpur]]. However, Khalid Azim was defeated by [[Raju Pal]] from the [[Bahujan Samaj Party]]. Following Raju Pal's murder on 25 January 2005,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chakraborty |first1=Tapas |title=Allahabad murder fuels caste war fears |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/allahabad-murder-fuels-caste-war-fears/cid/839220 |publisher=[[Telegraph India]] |date=3 November 2005}}</ref> a by-election was held, and he won the election from Prayagraj West constituency.

He contested the 2007 UP legislative elections but was defeated by Raju Pal's widow, [[Pooja Pal]].<ref>{{cite news |title=पंक्‍चर बनाने वाले की बेटी हैं MLA पूजा पाल, 9 दिन में हो गई थीं विधवा |url=https://www.bhaskar.com/news/UP-ALAH-bsp-mla-raju-pal-murder-case-story-of-wife-pooja-pal-5229838-PHO.html |publisher=[[Dainik Bhaskar]] |language=hi}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Allahabad West Uttar pradesh Assembly Election 2007 |url=https://www.latestly.com/elections/assembly-elections/uttar-pradesh/2007/allahabad-west/ |publisher=Latestly.com |date=2007}}</ref> Khalid Azim and his elder brother Atiq were the prime accused in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal.<ref>{{cite news |title=BSP MLA murder case: Charges framed against ex-MLA Khalid Azim, five others |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/crime/story/bsp-mla-murder-case-charges-framed-against-ex-mla-khalid-azim-five-others-2006995-2022-09-30 |publisher=[[India Today]] |date=1 October 2022}}</ref><ref name="hindustan"/>

== Criminal cases and controversies ==
In 1992, the first case was registered against him, at Prayagraj's [[Mutthigunj|Mutthiganj]] police station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 147, 148, 149, 364, 504, and 506, as well as the 7 [[Criminal Law Amendment Act]]. It was alleged that he had kidnapped and physically assaulted a youth after an altercation. At the time of the incident, he was reportedly pursuing a degree at [[Ewing Christian College]] in Allahabad.<ref name="hindustan"/> Later, cases were registered against him in different districts of Uttar Pradesh in the years 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dixit |first1=Kapil |title=Former Samajwadi Party MLA Khalid Azim arrested in UP's Prayagraj |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/ex-samajwadi-party-mla-khalid-azim-arrested-in-ups-prayagraj/articleshow/76772156.cms |publisher=[[Times of India]] |date=3 July 2020}}</ref>

In January 2005, Khalid Azim was named as a prime suspect in the murder of BSP MLA [[Raju Pal]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=BK |title=Has the BSP forgotten Pal murder case? |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/has-the-bsp-forgotten-pal-murder-case/story-onj4KYOvS4H0PejReLoDQL.html |publisher=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=1 January 2006}}</ref>

In January 2007, his name surfaced in the abduction and gang rape case of two minor girl students from a [[Madrasa|Madarsa]] in the Kareli area.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fredrick |first1=Oliver |last2=Misra |first2=Apoorva |title=Decoding 2007 'Madarsa Kand' in Prayagraj That Proved to be Political Death Knell for Atiq Ahmed, Brother |url=https://www.news18.com/india/decoding-2007-madarsa-kand-in-prayagraj-that-proved-to-be-political-death-knell-for-atiq-ahmed-brother-7672423.html |publisher=[[News 18]] |date=29 April 2023}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Khalid Azim was married to Zainab Ruby and had four children, including three daughters and one son.<ref name="hindustan"/>

== Murder ==
On 15 April 2023, Khalid Azim and his brother [[Atiq Ahmed]] were being escorted by [[Uttar Pradesh Police]] for a court-ordered medical checkup in [[Prayagraj]] when they were attacked in front of media cameras, shot at point-blank range and killed by three men who had posed as media personnel. <ref>{{cite news |title=Atiq Ahmed, Ashraf killed in front of cops by shooters posing as journos, high alert across UP |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/gangster-atiq-ahmed-borther-after-shot-in-prayagraj-three-shooters-held-what-we-know-so-far-2360597-2023-04-15 |publisher=[[India Today]] |date=16 April 2023}}</ref> Legal proceedings against Khalid Azim (alias Ashraf), his brother Atiq Ahmad, and Gulbul (alias Rafiq) in connection with the MLA Raju Pal murder case were closed after their deaths.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kumar |first1=Ruchi |title=UP: Special CBI court convicts seven people in BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case |url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/uttar-pradesh/raju-pal-murder-case-special-cbi-court-convicts-people-atiq-ahmad-ashraf-latest-updates-2024-03-29-923686 |publisher=[[NDTV]] |date=March 29, 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Mafia Raj]]
* [[Rent-seeking]]
* [[Mukhtar Ansari]]
* [[Vikas Dubey]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azim, Khalid}}
[[Category:20th-century births]]
[[Category:2023 deaths]]
[[Category:2023 murders in India]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Criminals from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in India]]
[[Category:Filmed assassinations]]
[[Category:Filmed killings in India]]
[[Category:Uttar Pradesh MLAs 2002–2007]]
[[Category:Politicians from Prayagraj]]
[[Category:Samajwadi Party politicians from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Indian politicians assassinated in the 21st century]]
[[Category:Politicians assassinated in 2023]]
[[Category:People murdered in Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]

Khalid Azim - Revision history

Ilushikpub at 14:19, 1 May 2026