LUCKNOW: Amid the ongoing crackdown on criminal-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad's gang, the Prayagraj police is gearing up to name his wife Shaista Parveen, a member of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and three of their sons -- Ali, Umer and Asad -- as members of his gang, which has been registered as ‘IS-227’ in police records since BSP rule (2007-12).
It may be mentioned that Atiq, Shaista and two of their sons are named in the case relating to Umesh Pal's murder which had taken place on February 24. Shaista and Asad had been on the run since the day of the murder and UP police have not been able to net them.
While Atiq is lodged in Sabarmati jail in Gujarat, his two elder sons Umer and Ali are incarcerated in Lucknow jail and Naini central jail of Prayagraj respectively in connection with multiple criminal cases.
“Shaista will be the first woman to be registered as a member of this gang in police records,” said a police official of Prayagraj.
As per police sources, the investigations had pointed at the active involvement of Shaista and her sons in criminal activities and that was why such an action would be taken against them.
Shaista has four cases registered against her including the murder of lawyer Umesh Pal in Prayagraj on February 24. Pal’s two police security guards were also killed in the shootout. Shaista has been absconding since then carrying a reward of Rs 25,000 for her arrest.
Atiq’s, third son Asad, also figures among the assailants of Umesh Pal and carries a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his arrest along with other shooters.
“Till now, Atiq Ahmad’s younger brother Khalid Azeem aka Ashraf, a former MLA, was the only Atiq kin to be named as member of IS-227 gang,” said a senior police officer of Prayagraj.
According to the police, Atiq’s gang operates across the country. Initially, there were around 170 persons in Atiq’s gang but the number had come down to 132 as many of the members were either eliminated by the police or had become inactive.
However, while plotting lawyer Umesh Pal’s murder in Prayagraj on February 24, Atiq and his brother Ashraf were believed to have inducted some new members into their gang to carry out the killing.