Prayagraj: One of the three accused held in connection with the killing of mafia dons Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azeem alias Ashraf is alleged to be a former aide of the once-feared gangster from western Uttar Pradesh — Sunder Bhati — and was the one in possession of ‘high-end’ weapons used, ThePrint has learnt.
According to police sources, Mohit alias Sunny Singh of Hamirpur — the “most-hardened criminal” — has the most extensive criminal record among the three accused. The 23-year-old was found in possession of ‘high-end’ Turkish Zigana and Girsan pistols that were reportedly given to him by a Meerut-based criminal named ‘Sodhi’, the sources added.
While several reports say that Sodhi was killed in an encounter in Delhi, there is little clarity over the same.
Police has confirmed that they are also probing possible links between Mohit and mafia gangs active in western UP and the Delhi-Punjab region, including jailed don Bhati’s.
This, they said, was because the high-end Turkish pistols used in the killings of Atiq and Ashraf are rarely available in India and such weapons have been used earlier only by a few ganglords of western UP, and some in Delhi and Punjab.
The three accused had used two sophisticated ‘made-in-Turkey’ weapons — the Zigana F (automatic), and a Girsan 9MM parabellum (Regard MC) pistol — along with a country-made ‘30 bore pistol’ in the killings of Atiq and Ashraf, the police added.
The two other accused currently in police custody are Arun Maurya of Kasganj and Lavlesh Tiwari of Banda.
Speaking to ThePrint, a senior state police officer who has served in western UP districts for years, confirmed that the gangs of Bhati and of Lawrence Bishnoi — accused of killing Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moose Wala — have long used high-end Turkey-made firearms.
“Bhati is now lodged in Sonbhadra District Jail. He is known to have access to such high-end arms. Also, Bhati’s link with one of the accused who is from Hamirpur has led the police to explore his involvement in the killings. However, such firearms have been very commonly used by Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang too, especially in the Moose Wala murder case,” said the officer who wished to not be named.
Former UP director general of police (DGP) O.P. Singh also said that it is difficult for small-time criminals to get access to high-end arms like a Zigana pistol. “These are extremely rare in India and are only available with dreaded gangsters who get them via smuggling. It is possible that some gangster helped the accused in getting the arms,” he told ThePrint.
While no police officer has confirmed Bhati’s direct involvement, Dhoomanganj Station House Officer (SHO) Rajesh Maurya told ThePrint that Mohit “had spent some time with Bhati in Hamirpur jail”.
It was on the SHO’s complaint that a murder case was registered in connection with the Atiq-Ashraf killings at Shahganj police station.
ThePrint also reached Satish Chandra, additional DCP (crime) heading the special investigative team (SIT) probing the case, via calls but he said he would not be able to provide any information and to get in touch with Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma.
Phone calls to Sharma, however, went unanswered. ThePrint also reached him via text message but did not get a response. This report will be updated when a response is received.
In the FIR lodged by the Prayagraj Police in connection with the Atiq-Ashraf murders, the police have noted that the three accused admitted to “wanting to create a name for themselves by killing the brothers”.
The Hamirpur link
In 2020, the office of the UP DGP had issued a list of 33 gangsters — including six from western UP — and ordered a crackdown on them. The list had six names from Noida — Sundar Bhati, his nephew Anil Bhati, Singhraj Bhati, Ankit Gujjar, Ankit’s relative Amit Kasana and Anil Dujana.
A history-sheeter in Gautam Buddh Nagar district, Bhati has at least 55 cases lodged against him and was once known to terrorise western UP. He was, however, sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in 2021 along with 11 accomplices for the murder of Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Harendra Nagar and his gunner Bhudev Sharma in 2015.
Police sources told ThePrint that Bhati was (initially) imprisoned in Hamirpur district jail “where he met with and befriended Mohit”.
The sources said that Mohit, a history-sheeter at Kurara police station in Hamirpur, had been incarcerated at the same Hamirpur jail for a total of 520 days between 2016 and 2020.
“In 2019, Sunder Bhati, too, was lodged in Hamirpur jail. Bhati came in touch with Mohit alias Sunny during his period of incarceration in the jail and both were transferred to different jails in 2020,” a second police officer told ThePrint.
While Mohit was transferred to a Kanpur jail on 21 January, 2020, Bhati was transferred to Sonbhadra jail days later.
Mohit was subsequently released on bail but went “missing” from the police’s radar.
At Kurara police station, a board containing the names of history-sheeters showed Mohit as “missing” as of 9 April. ThePrint is in possession of a video of the board.
The Prayagraj Police are now probing whether Mohit had joined hands with any of the gangs that have used Zigana and Girsan pistols in the past to kill Atiq and Ashraf, and if Bhati was the one who provided Mohit with the arms to carry out the killing.
According to reports, Atiq suffered a total of nine bullets to his head, chest, neck and waist, while Ashraf suffered five.
ThePrint reached Prayagraj Chief Medical Officer Dr Ashu Pandey via calls with queries about the post-mortem report of the brothers, but did not get a response. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
‘Political conspiracy’
While the police are probing a larger conspiracy behind the murders, Vijay Mishra, one of Atiq’s lawyers, speaking to a news channel Monday, said his client’s family members suspected that there was a political conspiracy behind the killings.
“They feel that it is a political conspiracy because those involved in the shootout did not have the financial status to be able to buy a pistol worth Rs 20 lakh,” he said.
Alleging negligence on the part of the Prayagraj Police, Mishra pointed out that “earlier there used to be a huge security cover for Atiq and Ashraf, but on Saturday they were only surrounded by a few constables, two inspectors and a sub-inspector” when the shootout took place.
“It is a political conspiracy due to which the security cover was reduced,” he alleged.
Speaking to ThePrint, Atiq’s other lawyer Daya Shankar Mishra said the brothers had expressed fear for their lives before the court last week.
“When they were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court last week, Atiq and Ashraf had openly told the court that they feared for their lives and that a senior police officer had told them that ‘15 din me tumhara kaam tamaam ho jayega’ (they would meet their fate in 15 days),” Mishra said.
Ashraf had echoed the same fears to the media on 28 March, stating that “he had been informed by a senior police officer that they (the brothers) will be brought out of jail in two weeks and be killed”.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)