Nithyakalyani Narayanan. V
Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed’s Counsel, Advocate Vijay Mishra, used to FaceTime with him and his brother Ashraf to plan the Umesh Pal murder.
Advocate Mishra is accused of sharing Pal’s location from Prayagraj Court before he and two policemen were shot dead on February 24. He was arrested under various provisions of the IPC, Explosives Act, Criminal Law Amendment Act, and SC/ST Act.
The Uttar Pradesh Police will look through Ahmed’s lawyer’s phone to recover chats. The police informed that the brothers had given iPhones to those conspiring with them for the murder of Umesh. It is reported that Atiq’s son Asad Ahmad had FaceTime IDs for everyone to easily communicate. Last month, police filed a charge sheet against eight accused in the Umesh Pal murder case. The charge sheet mentioned accused Atiq, Rakesh alias Nakesh alias Lala, Arshad Katra, Niyaz Ahmad, Iqbal Ahmad, Shahrukh, Akhlaq Ahmad, and Khan Shoulat Haneef.
Umesh Pal was the main witness in the BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case. Atiq and Ashraf, the main accused in the case, were shot dead by three youths on April 15 outside a hospital in Prayagraj while being taken for a medical check by police. Along with Asad and Mishra, the shooters and helpers in the murder were also given iPhones.
In May, Atiq’s other lawyer, Khan Saulat Haneef, informed the police that Atiq had given him an iPhone to Facetime the brothers and Asad. The police found the FaceTime ID of the trio and a transaction record of several crores from a chat history on the iPhone.