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Pistol, cartridges recovered from Saulat Haneef’s residence
A day before, a court had granted the police a 12-hour custody remand of Saulat Haneef in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case
Police, who on Wednesday interrogated slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed’s lawyer Khan Saulat Haneef, recovered a pistol and some cartridges from his residence in Prayagraj, officials said, adding the lawyer has been booked under the Arms Act for the offence.
The day before, a court had granted the police a 12-hour custody remand of Saulat Haneef in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case. After the remand ended at 6 pm, the lawyer was taken back to Naini Central Jail.
Heavy security arrangements were in place at Dhumanganj police station, where the 61-year-old was interrogated. In the afternoon, he was taken to his house in the Pritam Nagar locality from where the police recovered three phones, a country-made 9 mm pistol and three cartridges.
The police said one of the phones recovered was used to send photographs of Umesh Pal to Asad’s phone four days before Pal was killed outside his residence on February 24 this year. Asad, one of the sons of Atiq Ahmed, was killed in an exchange of fire with police recently.
The police had reportedly recovered evidence from Asad’s phone that suggested that Saulat Haneef had sent him at least 10 photographs of Pal on February 19. Saulat Haneef was booked for Pal’s murder on the basis of this evidence.
“Saulat Haneef’s interrogation provided vital clues to the police... which will help the police in collecting concrete evidence against the accused involved in the Umesh Pal murder case,” police officials aware of the day’s developments said.
The lawyer was also reportedly asked about the various ‘benami’ properties Atiq in Prayagraj, Lucknow, western Uttar Pradesh and in other states. Khan was said to have disclosed the names of some of Atiq’s financers and business partners.
On March 28, Saulat Haneef was awarded life imprisonment by a court in the Umesh Pal abduction case. In the FIR lodged in 2007, Umesh Pal alleged that he was abducted and taken hostage at Atiq’s office in Prayagraj’s Chakia locality. Atiq and others allegedly tortured Pal and forced him to withdraw his statement given as a witness in the 2005 BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case.
