Prayagraj: Uttar Pradesh Police recovered Rs 72.37 Lakhs cash and about a dozen illegal weapons from a demolished office of mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed in Chakia area here on Tuesday, news agency ANI quoted officials as saying. 11 pistols and dozens of live cartridges have also been found, news agency IANS reported. On Tuesday, a search was carried out at the site amid a heavy police deployment and a huge amount of cash and about a dozen illegal weapons were found from the former MP’s office. They said five people were arrested today in the course of an investigation into the murder of advocate Umesh Pal & two Police personnel.

Five people arrested today in the course of an investigation into the murder of advocate Umesh Pal & two Police personnel. The five identified as Niyaz Ahmed, Mohd Sajar, Kaish Ahemd, Rakesh Kumar and Mohd Arshad Khan alias Arshad Katra: Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma pic.twitter.com/1JRPXE8gd0
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 21, 2023

Here are the ten points from UP Police’s crackdown:

The five arrested have been identified as Niyaz Ahmed, Mohd Sajar, Kaish Ahemd, Rakesh Kumar and Mohd Arshad Khan alias Arshad Katra, news agency ANI quoted Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma as saying.

The police said it has also recovered six mobile phones and Rs 2.25 Lakhs in cash from all the five.

Ahmed is the main accused in the 2005 killing of BSP MLA Raju Pal. He was recently booked in connection with the killing of Umesh Pal, the key witness in the Raju Pal murder case. 

Umesh Pal and his police security guard Sandeep Nishad were shot dead in Dhoomanganj area of Prayagraj on February 24.

Based on a complaint by Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya Pal, a case was registered at Dhoomanganj police station against Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Ghulam, and nine others.

The reward for anyone providing information leading to the arrest of five accused, including Atiq Ahmed’s son Asad, has been increased to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 2.5 lakh, a senior police official had earlier told PTI.

Two men allegedly linked to Umesh Pal’s murder ‘Arbaaz and Vijay Chowdhary alias Usman’ were killed in encounters with the police on February 27 and March 6 respectively. Atiq Ahmed is currently lodged in a Gujarat jail.

Earlier on Monday, the Prayagraj Development Authority demolished the ancestral home of Mohammad Ghulam, an accused in the Umesh Pal murder case.

Mohammad Ghulam’s brother Rahil Hasan, former president of the BJP Minority Morcha’s Mahanagar unit, claimed that Ghulam had sold off his share in the house and had nothing to do with it.

A Prayagraj Development Authority team reached Rasoolabad in the Shivkuti area around noon and vacated the house. Roads on both sides of the house were barricaded before the demolition process began using two bulldozers in the presence of a large police force.