With the deaths of mafiosi Atiq Ahmad and his younger brother Khalid Azeem aka Ashraf, their connections with Pakistan-based arms dealers still remains a mystery. Moreover, the huge cache of firearms, ammunition and crude bombs which they had hidden in Prayagraj and Kaushambi, as claimed by the police initially, are also yet to be recovered.
The police had claimed that Atiq and Ashraf had confessed to having relations with Pakistani arms dealers and hiding the cache of firearms, in its application in court while seeking the duo’s custodial remand.
In the application, police claimed that Atiq in his statement had confessed to having relations with Pakistani secret service agency ISI and terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba.
During questioning, Atiq told the police that the firearms are dropped inside the Indian border in Punjab through drones which are collected by a local connection. Terrorists in Kashmir also receive firearms from the same channel.
Atiq and Ashraf know the spot where the firearms are dropped on the Punjab border and also have information about the person who collects them. However, it is not possible for them to give an exact location and police need their custody to take them to the spot, the application from the police read.
Moreover, police also claimed in its application for custody remand of mafia brothers that the duo have claimed in their statements that they have hidden firearms, ammunition and crude bombs at places in Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Fatehpur and Unnao districts. However, the places where firearms and crude bombs were hidden were between the fields and farmhouses. The exact spot could be ascertained only if the accused are taken there.
The court gave custody remand of four days of Atiq and Ashraf to Dhumanganj police for questioning. The remand started on April 14 and was to end on April 17. Police questioned Atiq and Ashraf and on April 15 took the duo to deserted ruins in Kasari Masari area. On their confession, police recovered two pistols and 58 cartridges which included eight bullets manufactured in Pakistan.
Around three hours later, Atiq and Ashraf were shot dead while they were being taken for medical examination to Colvin Hospital.
Police could only recover two pistols including a Colt and 58 bullets but the connection of mafia brothers with ISI and terrorist organisations remained a mystery. Moreover, the spots where a huge cache of firearms and crude bombs were hidden could also not be identified as Atiq and Ashraf were shot dead before they could be questioned further, police officials said.
However, officials maintained that investigations in this direction are still underway. With the arrest of Guddu Muslim police may get clues about Atiq’s connections with Pakistani arms dealers. Moreover, police will also make attempts to recover the cache of firearms that were hidden by the brothers, officials added.