UP: Atiq Ahmed’s lawyer arrested by STF in Lucknow in an extortion case

On 29th July 2023, UP STF detained Vijay Mishra, lawyer of assassinated mafia don Atiq Ahmed, near Lucknow’s Hyatt Hotel in Gomtinagar. He was arrested for allegedly trying to extort a businessman in Prayagraj, and a case has been registered against him. A team of the Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh Police carried out the operation.

Vijay Mishra has been charged with demanding Rs 3 crore as extortion money, and a case has been registered against him at Attarsuiya police station in Prayagraj. The case was filed against him earlier this year following the murder of gangster Atiq Ahmed. Mohammad Saeed, a plywood trader, approached the police station and informed them about Vijay Mishra’s extortion demands. He claimed that Mishra threatened him with severe consequences if he didn’t comply.

On 15th April 2023, three miscreants shot dead gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf while both were brought to the civil hospital in Prayagraj for a routine medical check. After the murder, the three miscreants stayed at the scene instead of fleeing and were apprehended by the police. Gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were the main suspects in the Umesh Pal murder case. Earlier, Atiq had been sentenced to life imprisonment in the Umesh Pal kidnapping case by the Prayagraj court.

Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed was booked in many cases of extortion, murder, kidnapping, and criminal intimidation. He ran a gang of around 100 to 150 criminals and operated across various districts of Uttar Pradesh. Ever since his murder, his wife Shaista Parveen and another accomplice Guddu Muslim are absconding. Shaista Parveen used to head the gang operations when Atiq Ahmed was lodged in jail for the last many years.