Slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed’s lawyer Vijay Mishra was arrested from outside Hotel Hyatt Legacy in Lucknow in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case, police said. Mishra was accused of sharing Umesh Pal’s location from Prayagraj court before he along with two policemen was shot dead on February 24. He has been arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Explosives Act, Criminal Law Amendment Act, and SC/ST Act.
Umesh Pal and two policemen deployed in his security were shot dead on February 24 this year. Pal was the main witness in the BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case. Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, the main accused named in the case, were shot dead by three youths on April 15, 2023, outside a hospital while they were being taken for a medical check by police.
Last month, police filed their charge sheet against eight accused in the Umesh Pal murder case. The charge sheet mentions Ahmed, Rakesh alias Nakesh alias Lala, Arshad Katra, Niyaz Ahmed, Iqbal Ahmed, Shahrukh, Akhlaq Ahmed, and Khan Shoulat Haneef as accused, he said.
Mishra was also wanted in an extortion case. He was booked on May 21 for allegedly demanding ₹3 crore extortion money from a plywood trader in Prayagraj district.
In a complaint filed at Attarsuiya Police Station in Prayagraj, the trader, Sayeed Ahmad, who hails from Dariyabad and owns a shop in the Muthiganj locality, alleged that Mishra had bought goods worth ₹1.20 lakh from him on credit but refused to clear his dues.
On April 20, Mishra dialled Saeed and demanded ₹3 crore in the name of Atiq and his henchmen, according to the complainant.
Meanwhile, Mishra has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and said, “The FIR makes completely false allegations against me as part of a conspiracy to malign my image and harm my reputation.”
