Crude bombs hurled near house of Atiq’s lawyer: Police

Police say incident a result of dispute between two youths but the lawyer claims it is an effort to intimidate him for representing Atiq and Ashraf

PRAYAGRAJ Crude bombs were hurled in a bylane near the residence of one of the lawyers of slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad on Tuesday. There were no reports of any casualty in the explosion that occurred around 2.30pm in Katra locality here, said police.

Dayashankar Mishra, lawyer of slain mafia don-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad, after crude bombs were hurled near his residence, in Prayagraj, Tuesday. . (PTI Photo)

The incident was a result of a dispute between two parties and claims of an attack on the house of Atiq Ahmad’s lawyer were false, said Prashant Kumar, special DG (law and order).

Atiq’s lawyer Dayashankar Mishra was not the target and the incident was a fallout of personal enmity between two youths, said Ram Mohan Rai, SHO, Colonelganj police station. However, the lawyer claimed that it was an effort to intimidate him for representing Atiq and Ashraf.

Speaking to media persons, Mishra said there were explosions near his house and the police carried out investigations. “I suspect that the crude bombs were hurled to scare me and stop me from pursuing the case of my clients Atiq and Ashraf,” he said.

Panic gripped locals at Gobar Gali in Katra when multiple crude bomb explosions were heard. Videos of smoke and some youths running in the bylane went viral on social media. SHO of Colonelganj police station reached the scene and called a forensic team for investigations.

SHO Ram Mohan Rai said primary investigations revealed that there was a dispute between two parties over some issue. According to him, one Harshit Sonkar hurled crude bombs on Akash, Raunak and others and fled. No one was injured in the incident and the explosions took place in the lane near lawyer Dayashankar Mishra’s house.

The information about the attack on the lawyer was false and further investigations into the incident were being carried out, he added.

Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf Ahmad were shot dead by men posing as journalists on Saturday night, while they were being taken for a medical examination in Prayagraj.