Atiq Ahmed’s lawyer was gifted iPhone, would FaceTime to plan Umesh Pal murder: Report

Slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed’s lawyer Vijay Mishra, who recently was arrested outside Hotel Hyatt Legacy in Lucknow in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case, was gifted an iPhone and used to FaceTime with Atiq and his brother Ashraf.

Mishra was accused of sharing Umesh Pal’s location from Prayagraj court before he along with two policemen was shot dead on February 24. He has been arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Explosives Act, Criminal Law Amendment Act, and SC/ST Act.

As reported by LiveHindustan, the Uttar Pradesh Police is planning to seek custody of Atiq’s lawyer. The police will look through his phone to recover chats.

Police sources said Atiq and Ashraf had given iPhones to those operating with them while conspiring for Umesh Pal’s murder. As per reports, Atiq’s son Asad Ahmad had FaceTime IDs for everyone to communicate with ease.

Umesh Pal and two policemen deployed in his security were shot dead on February 24. Pal was the main witness in the BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case. Atiq and Ashraf, the main accused named in the case, were shot dead by three youths on April 15 outside a hospital in Prayagraj while they were being taken for a medical check by police.

Along with Asad and Mishra, the shooters and helpers in the murder were also given iPhones, the report added.

Last month, police filed a charge sheet against eight accused in the Umesh Pal murder case. The charge sheet mentioned Atiq, Rakesh alias Nakesh alias Lala, Arshad Katra, Niyaz Ahmad, Iqbal Ahmad, Shahrukh, Akhlaq Ahmad, and Khan Shoulat Haneef as accused.

iPhone recovered from Atiq’s advocate Khan Saulat Haneef

In May, Atiq’s another lawyer Khan Saulat Haneef informed the police that the gangster-turned-politician had given him an iPhone for communicating with him, Ashraf and Asad through the FaceTime app. The police had also found FaceTime ID of the trio on the iPhone.

The police had also found a record of transactions worth several crores while scanning a chat history of the iPhone recovered after questioning Saulat.

Saulat also told the police that Atiq had entered into an argument with Umesh Pal over the phone and their altercation led to the latter’s killing on February 24.