Slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed allegedly called Abdul Samad (alias Saddam) from Sabarmati Jail over the FaceTime app to help his son Asad, after the CCTV clip of Umesh Pal’s killing in which Asad can be allegedly seen shooting the victim along with other gang members went viral. Besides this, Atiq also asked Saddam to provide his son and another shooter, Ghulam, a hideout while they were on the run, sources told News18 on Monday. It is also suspected that the conspiracy to kill Umesh Pal was hatched using the FaceTime app. These facts came to light during the interrogation of Saddam whom Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested on September 28 from Delhi.
Sources with UP Police said that Saddam, who is the brother-in-law of Atiq’s brother Ashraf, and an accused in Umesh Pal’s murder in Prayagraj on February 24, made several revelations during the interrogation.
Umesh Pal, a prime witness in Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal’s murder in 2005, was allegedly shot dead by members of Atiq Ahmed’s gang in broad daylight on February 24 when he was on his way to attend a court hearing in the case in Prayagraj’s Dhoomanganj area.
“It was after Umesh Pal’s shooting that the CCTV footage of Atiq’s son Asad firing went viral. Atiq, who was then lodged in Sabarmati Jail, called Saddam over FaceTime and sought help to save his son from the police,” said sources.
Asad Ahmed and Ghulam, who were wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case and were also named in the FIR, were killed in an encounter with UP STF in Jhansi on April 14. Both had bounties of Rs 5 lakh each.
Sources further said that while responding to Atiq’s call, Saddam said that he himself was on the run but would arrange a hideout once things settled down.
Some senior police officers said that Saddam’s arrest may help in revealing the whereabouts of Atiq Ahmed’s wife Shaista Parveen, who carries a bounty of Rs 50,000. Parveen is a prime accused in Umesh Pal’s murder case. She did not turn up when her third son Asad, who allegedly led the team of assailants in Umesh Pal’s murder, was gunned down in a police encounter on April 13 nor when her husband Atiq and his brother Ashraf were murdered by three assailants in police custody in the presence of media outside a hospital in Prayagraj on April 15.
Police said Saddam’s arrest can also give them leads about Zainab Fatima, wife of Atiq Ahmed’s younger brother Ashraf, and their sister Ayesha Noori and her two daughters Unzela and Mantasha in connection with the murder.
UP STF had recovered a mobile phone and a car from Saddam. Police, however, are still scanning the phone.
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