Updated April 15th, 2023 at 11:06 IST

Big action by ATS against Mafia brothers; Atique Ahmed and Ashraf to be slapped with UAPA

Trouble has mounted for the Mafia brothers Atique Ahmed and Ashraf who are accused in the Umesh Pal murder case as they are soon going to be slapped with UAPA.

Reported by: Astha Singh
Image: PTI | Image:self
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Trouble has mounted for the Mafia brothers Atique Ahmed and Ashraf who are accused in the Umesh Pal murder case as they are soon going to be slapped with the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). 

Mafia Brothers to be booked under UAPA

The Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) has gathered important clues during the interrogation of the mafia brothers as they accepted having links with ISI and Pakistan for arms smuggling. Notably, during the interrogation on Friday, Atique told ATS that he had no shortage of weapons because of direct connections with Pakistan's ISI and terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. The ATS is now preparing to soon register a case against Atique and Ashraf under UAPA.

During the interrogation, Atique revealed that "weapons from Pakistan are dropped on the Punjab border with the help of a drone, and a local connection collects them. Terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir get weapons from this shipment," he added. According to the charge sheet. He further said, "If you take me with you, I can help you recover that money, arms, and ammunition used in the incident."

On Friday night, Atique Ahmed along with his brother Ashraf was brought to Dhoomanganj Police Station in Prayagraj.

In the latest development, Atique's henchman Asad Kalia and his brother Faizan have also been arrested from Umri village. As per sources, Asad Kalia is said to be a very close aide of Atique and was wanted in many cases with a declared Rs 25,000 bounty on his head.

Big revelation on cash recovered from Atique's office  

The Uttar Pradesh police and Special Task Force (STF) have made a massive revelation in the Umesh Pal murder case, as gangster-turned-politician Atique Ahmad's funding module has been exposed. As per the official reports, a builder from Lucknow gave Rs 80 lakh to Atique's son Asad who was gunned down on Thursday in an encounter as he was the main accused in the Umesh Pal murder case. The money was given to Asad by the builder two days before the encounter. This money was distributed among the shooters who killed Umesh Pal. 

Notably, on March 21, a huge amount of cash worth Rs 74 lakh 62 thousand was recovered from  Atique's office.  Ten weapons were also recovered after which five people were arrested including Atique's Munshi Rakesh Lala and Driver.

Asad Ahmed's encounter

According to the UP Police, an STF team led by two deputy superintendents of police reached the Badagaon area in the Jhansi district after getting information about Asad and his associate Ghulam. Both of the accused, who carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh each, had tried to flee on a motorcycle. They also opened fire at the STF team when the latter surrounded them. To this, the police retaliated and Asad and Ghulam were killed. 

"Asad, son of mafia-turned-politician Atique Ahmed and Ghulam S/o Maksudan, both wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case of Prayagraj and carrying a reward of Rupees five lakhs each; killed in an encounter with the UPSTF team led by DySP Navendu and DySP Vimal at Jhansi. Sophisticated foreign-made weapons recovered," UPSTF said in a statement. As per the police, they recovered a British Bull Dog revolver and a Walther pistol from the Umesh Pal murder accused.

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Published April 15th, 2023 at 10:05 IST