Atiq’s lawyer arrested in Umesh Pal murder case

Police on Sunday arrested slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad’s lawyer, Vijay Mishra, from Lucknow in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case, officials said. Several cases, including those under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Explosives Act, and the Indian Penal Code, are pending against Mishra, they said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (City) Deepak Bhukar said Mishra was arrested by officers from the Dhoomanganj police station. He was nabbed outside a hotel, and legal action is underway, police sources said. Mishra was accused of sharing Pal’s location with a Prayagraj court before the latter, along with two policemen, was shot dead on February 24. He was booked in an extortion case on May 21 after he allegedly demanded Rs 3 crore from a plywood trader in Prayagraj district. In an FIR at Attarsuiya Police Station in Prayagraj, Sayeed Ahmad, who hails from Dariyabad and owns a shop in the Muthiganj locality, alleged that Mishra had bought goods worth Rs 1.20 lakh from him on credit but refused to clear his dues. He alleged, in the FIR dated April 20, that Mishra dialled Saeed and demanded Rs 3 crore in the name of Atiq and his henchmen.
Umesh Pal, the main witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, and his two security guards were shot dead on February 24. Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf, the main accused in this case, were shot dead by assailants when they were being taken into police custody for a medical examination in April. Ahmad’s wife, Shaista Parveen, also wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case, is still absconding.