Umesh Pal murder: Atiq Ahmed’s lawyer booked for criminal conspiracy

The names of Khan Saulat Hanif and his son have been added under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code as accused in the Umesh Pal murder case

Slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed’s lawyer Khan Saulat Hanif was booked for criminal conspiracy in the February 24 murders of lawyer Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, and his two police guards in Sulem Sarai area of Prayagraj, said police officials on Saturday.

Khan Saulat Hanif (in pic) was earlier convicted and awarded life term in the 2006 kidnapping and assault of Umesh Pal. (HT file photo)

The names of Khan Saulat Hanif and his son were added under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code as accused in the Umesh Pal murder case. On the basis of the complaint lodged by Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya Pal on the day of the murders, a case was registered against Atiq Ahmad, his brother Ashraf, wife Shaista Parveen, their three sons (including Asad), aides Guddu Muslim and Ghulam besides nine others at Dhoomanganj police station of Prayagraj.

They were booked under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Explosive Substances Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act, police said.

On March 28, the MP/MLA court of Prayagraj convicted Atiq Ahmed, Khan Saulat Hanif and Dinesh Pasi in connection with the 2006 kidnapping and assault of Umesh Pal and sentenced them to life in prison. Hanif and Pasi are lodged in Naini Central Jail in Prayagraj.

“Names of Khan Saulat Hanif and his son emerged during the investigation into the Umesh Pal murder case and therefore they too have been made accused in the case,” said station house officer (SHO), Dhoomanganj police station, Rajesh Kumar Maurya.

If senior police officials are to be believed, Khan will soon be interrogated after being formally taken in police custody remand. Apart from this, the police are also in search of a lawyer who allegedly shared information about Umesh Pal’s whereabouts from time to time with the assailants on their high-end smart phones.

The lawyer was given a costly smart phone by Atiq’s son Asad for the purpose, claim police. Enforcement Directorate (ED) had found documents of benami properties worth crores belonging to Atiq Ahmed at Khan Saulat’s house during a recent raid and for which a separate probe is being undertaken by the ED.