The Dhoomanganj Police of Prayagraj had taken five accused, including Atiq's accountant Rakesh Lala, into custody who informed the police about the iPhone and the register where all the transactions were done.
Amid the ongoing row over Umesh Pal's kidnapping and murder case, Prayagraj Police on Tuesday made an important breakthrough and retrieved an iPhone, a register and two Aadhaar cards from the convicted gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed’s home in Parayagraj's Kasari Masari..
It has been reported that the police recovered the items on the testimony of Atiq’s accountant, Rakesh Lala, who was taken into police custody along with Atiq.
Recently, a court in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj convicted the gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and two other accused in the 2006 kidnapping of Umesh Pal, the prime witness in the BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case.
The MP-MLA court also sentenced Atiq Ahmed, Dinesh Pasi and Khan Saulat Hanif to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh has been imposed.
So far, the Dhoomanganj Police of Prayagraj had taken five accused, including Atiq's accountant Rakesh Lala, into custody who informed the police about the iPhone and the register where all the transactions were done.
The police will be sending the retrieved iPhone to the forensic lab for examination as they suspect that it was used in Umesha Pal's murder case.
The register seiced from Atiq's house revealed critical information about property deals between several property dealers and Atiq and his associates.Names of several old accomplices of Atiq Ahmed's were also mentioned in the register.
Rakesh Lala also told the police that the money and weapons found in Atiq's office were provided to them by the gangster's wife, Shaista Parveen.
Umesh Pal was shot dead on February 24 near his residence in Prayagraj. One of his bodyguards was injured in the attack and later succumbed to his injuries.
CCTV footage showed Umesh Pal and one of his two police bodyguards stepping out of an SUV when they were shot from behind by two men.
Atiq Ahmed, his brother and ex-MLA Ashraf are the prime accused in the Raju Pal murder case.
Raju Pal was murdered months after winning the Allahabad (West) assembly seat in his electoral debut by defeating former Atiq Ahmed's younger brother Khalid Azim.