The lawyer of slain gangster Atiq Ahmed was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case. Pal was the main witness in the BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case. Reportedly, Mishra was accused of sharing Umesh Pal's location with the shooter. He was arrested from outside Hotel Hyatt Legacy located in Vibhuti Khand in Lucknow late on Saturday night.
Last month, police filed their charge sheet against eight accused in the Umesh Pal murder case. The chargesheet mentioned Atiq Ahmed, Rakesh alias Nakesh alias Lala, Arshad Katra, Niyaz Ahmed, Iqbal Ahmed, Shahrukh, Akhlaq Ahmed, and Khan Shoulat Haneef as accused.
Vijay Mishra arrested by Prayagraj Police
Mishra was arrested by Prayagraj Police with the help of the Special Task Force (STF). According to news agency ANI, the arrested has been made on the basis of the statement of Khan Saulat Hanif and mobile details "Police have arrested Advocate Vijay Mishra, who was a wanted accused in the Umesh Pal murder case. Further investigation is underway," said Deepak Bhuker, DCP, Prayagraj.
A number of 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 him, reported news agency PTI.
Mishra's junior advocate Himanshu Pandey, who was present outside Hotel Hyatt last night, said the police took Vijay with them. The police team which came in three vehicles first had a brief conversation with Mishra and then made him sit in the vehicle. He was arrested around 10:15 in the night.
Mishra is fighting the case of mafia Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, besides many members of the family including Atiq’s son Ali.
Mishra was also wanted in an extortion case. Earlier in May, he was booked for allegedly threatening a local businessman and trying to extort Rs 3 crore from him. The audio clip of the same went viral.
Meanwhile, the lawyers are angry beacuse of the arrest of advocate Vijay Mishra like this. A meeting of lawyers was also held late at night regarding this.
Atiq Ahmed shot dead
On April 15, Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead from point-blank range while being taken for their medicals, in the presence of police officials. Three persons, posing as journalists, had joined the media persons who surrounded Atiq and his brother asking questions. The three men shot Atiq and Ashraf who died on the spot. They were arrested soon after from the place of the incident.
Atiq was an accused in the Raju Pal and Umesh Pal murder cases. Umesh Pal was a key witness in the killing of former BSP legislator Raju Pal. He was also convicted in the Umesh Pal abduction cases, weeks before his murder.
Earlier in July, Prayagraj Police's Special Investigation Team filed a nearly 2000-page chargesheet against the three assailants who shot dead gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother. The accused were identified as Lavlesh Tiwari, Arun Maurya, and Sunny Singh. All of them allegedly had criminal backgrounds.
Also Read: Atiq Ahmed murder case: Prayagraj Police SIT files 2000-page chargesheet in court
Also Read: Atiq Ahmed death: Gangster's sister Aisha Noori moves SC seeking comprehensive probe
