Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed, who are accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, will be booked under the Unlawful Activities Preventions Act (UAPA). The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has gathered clues regarding Atiq Ahmed’s connection with Pakistan’s ISI, and the Islamist terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which led to the UAPA charge.
This comes after Atiq Ahmed confessed in a statement given to the Uttar Pradesh Police that he has direct connections with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and terror outfit LeT.
In his statement included in the police chargesheet, Atiq Ahmed said, “I have no dearth of weapons because I have direct connections with Pakistan’s ISI and the terror organization Lashkar-e-Taiba. Weapons from Pakistan are dropped on the Punjab border with the help of drones and local connection collects them. Terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir get weapons from this consignment. If you take me with you, I can help you recover the money, arms, and ammunition used in the incident.”
Ahmed has also revealed that he had informed his wife Shaista Parveen, who is a co-accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, about the plan to murder Umesh Pal, including how the weapons will be procured and kept. Atiq’s wife Shaista Parveen is currently absconding.
Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were brought to Dhoomanganj Police Station in Prayagraj last night.
#WATCH | UP: Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were brought to Dhoomanganj Police Station in Prayagraj, last night (14/04) pic.twitter.com/0oNisVPldJ
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 14, 2023
Reportedly, Asad Kalia, a close aide of Atiq, and his brother Faizan were also arrested from Umri village. According to reports, Asad Kalia was wanted in a number of cases and had a Rs 25,000 bounty declared on his head.
In addition to this, disclosures regarding the cash that was retrieved from Atiq Ahmed’s office have been made by the UP police and STF. Atiq Ahmed’s office was searched on March 21 and ten illegal firearms and cash worth Rs 74 lakh 62 thousand were found.
According to the investigation, Atiq’s son Asad, who was gunned down in an encounter, received 80 lakh rupees from a Lucknow builder by the name of Mohammad Muslim. Two days prior to the encounter, Asad received the cash. The money was supposed to be distributed among the accused who shot down Umesh Pal.
Umesh Pal murder case
Umesh Pal, a key eyewitness in the 2005 murder of the then BSP MLA Raju Pal, was shot dead at his residence in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on February 24. He was taken to a hospital immediately, but he passed away while receiving treatment. After reviewing the CCTV video from the crime scene, the Prayagraj Police identified the criminals. Based on the complaint by Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya Pal, police booked Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, his wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Ghulam, and nine others.
It is notable that on April 13, 2023, Asad Ahmed, the third son of Atiq Ahmed was gunned down by the UP Police STF in an encounter at Jhansi. Along with Asad, his associate Ghulam Muhammad, son of Maksudan, a gunman who assisted Asad in killing Umesh Pal and 2 other police personnel, was also killed.
