Prayagraj: Lawyer Khan Saulat Haneef, who represented the late mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad, informed the police that Atiq disagreed with lawyer Umesh Pal over the phone, which resulted in Umesh’s murder on February 24. Police have alleged that Atiq was angered by Umesh’s intrusion into his illegal real estate business.
During a 12-hour custody remand, Khan Saulat was questioned by police, during which he reportedly disclosed that Atiq had sent his aide Guddu Muslim to meet Umesh Pal. During their meeting, Guddu called Atiq in Sabarmati Jail, and Atiq asked Umesh to withdraw his case against him and to stay away from his illegal property business.
The police claim that Atiq threatened Umesh, but the exchange between them became heated when Umesh gave a stern response. Atiq’s wife, Shaista, attempted to pacify Umesh, but to no avail.
Police assert that Khan revealed Atiq felt insulted by Umesh and ordered Ashraf to kill him. Atiq’s son Asad allegedly met Ashraf at Bareilly jail with Guddu Muslim, Ghulam, Vijay Chaudhary, Arman, and others on February 11, where they planned Umesh’s murder.
Following their return to Prayagraj, there were numerous attempts to target Umesh. On February 21, the attackers allegedly assembled near Umesh Pal’s house but failed to target him due to the arrival of a police jeep. However, on February 24, they carried out the plan to eliminate him.
The police have found a record of transactions worth several crores in the chat history of an iPhone recovered from Khan Saulat following his questioning. On his confession, the police recovered three phones, a 9mm pistol, and three cartridges from his home. Saulat claimed that Asad gave him the pistol for safety on the instructions of Atiq.
Saulat revealed that the iPhone was used to communicate with Atiq, Ashraf, and Asad through the FaceTime app. The police found the FaceTime IDs of the trio in the iPhone, along with chat history showing transactions worth several crores made by different individuals. Saulat informed the police that Vijay Mishra called the assailants to provide Umesh’s location when he left the district court.
Meanwhile, police officials have stated that Khan Saulat Hanif, the lawyer for the late gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed, has been charged with criminal conspiracy in the murder of lawyer Umesh Pal and his two police guards on February 24.