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Police get fresh clues about Ashraf’s wife Zainab’s whereabouts
During questioning, Atiq’s lawyer Vijay Mishra gave vital information to police about Zainab and people who were helping her to get safe shelter at different places, including in Lucknow.
PRAYAGRAJ: Police teams have received vital clues about the whereabouts of slain Mafioso-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad’s younger brother Khalid Azeem aka Ashraf’s wife Zainab. Police have come to know that she was in Meerut, Azamgarh and even Lucknow for brief periods since absconding from Prayagraj following the February 24 triple murders.
They claim that Zainab, who is an accused in the murders of lawyer Umesh Pal and his two police guards, is very much active and even trying to sell benami properties of Atiq and Ashraf.
Atiq Ahmad’s lawyer Vijay Mishra was arrested from Lucknow a week back. Police teams received clues that a woman from Atiq’s family was at the hotel from where Vijay Mishra was arrested. Although police officials did not confirm the identity of the woman, they said that she was related to Umesh Pal’s murder case.
It is believed that the woman was Ashraf’s wife Zainab and her brother Saddam was also present in the hotel but they both escaped..
Investigations have revealed that Vijay Mishra had gone to Lucknow to fix the deal of one of Atiq’s benami properties.
During questioning, Atiq’s lawyer Vijay Mishra gave vital information to police about Zainab and people who were helping her to get safe shelter at different places, including in Lucknow.
A police official said that Zainab had escaped to Azamgarh and Meerut after her name surfaced in Umesh Pal’s murder case. If she failed to surrender, a cash reward on her could also be announced, he added.
To note, Atiq’s sister Ayesha Noori and her husband Dr Ekhlaq lived in Meerut and have influence and properties. Dr Ekhlaq is in jail while Ayesha Noori is on the run. However, police suspects that people close to them provided shelter to Zainab. She escaped to Azamgarh after some time when police teams started mounting pressure for her. Zainab was helped in Azamgarh by some people who were close to Atiq and Ashraf.
Officials said that Prayagraj police were in contact with cops of other districts to get clues about Zainab, Shaista and Ayesha Noori.
