The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested three men who allegedly gave shelter to a man wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case in Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Sunday.
Umesh Pal was a key witness in the 2005 killing of then Bahujan Samaj Party legislator Raju Pal.
Javed, Khalid, Jeeshan have been sent to judicial custody, the officials said.
They are accused of aiding Asad and harbouring him in the national capital after Umesh Pal’s killing. Asad is the son of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad.
The name of Ali, Ahmad’s other son, has also surfaced in the killing of Umesh Pal.
According to the police, Avtar Singh — a man they arrested in a case registered under the Arms Act — disclosed that he had supplied 10 weapons to Khalid and Jeeshan.
“We launched a manhunt and deployed sources. Based on a secret input, on March 28, Khalid and Jeeshan were arrested from Delhi’s Sheikh Sarai. Two weapons and live cartridges were also seized from them,” a senior police officer said.
During the investigation, the duo disclosed that they had provided shelter to Asad and Ghulam, wanted by Uttar Pradeh Police in the Umesh Pal murder case, he said.
Subsequently, Javed was arrested on 31 March and a case registered at the Special Cell, the officer said.
“Javed disclosed that Asad and Ghulam had also met him after Umesh Pal’s murder. All three arrested accused — Javed, Khalid, Jeeshan — are in judicial custody,” he added.
Uttar Pradesh Police has also booked Ahmad, his wife Shaista Parveen and son Ali in a forgery case linked to the murder of Umesh Pal.
The FIR was registered on Saturday at Prayagraj’s Dhoomanganj police station in which two more persons — Mohammad Sabir and Rakesh alias Nakesh alias Lala — have been named, the police said in a statement.
