UP: Huge cache of guns, bombs connected to mafia Atiq Ahmed's gang recovered in Kaushambi

A large cache of illegal weapons was recovered from a house here on the tip-off of an active member of late mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed's gang, police said on Monday. Ahmed's aide Abdul Qavi was brought to Kaushambi on Sunday for making the recovery, Superintendent of Police (SP) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava told reporters.

The seizure was made near Qavi's house in Bhakanda village under the Sarai Akil Police Station area along the 'kutcha' path that goes towards the Yamuna River.

At his instance, on Sunday an excavation was carried out at some distance from the Kutcha route which revealed 10 pistols of 12 bore, 10 pistols of .315 bore, one revolver of .32 bore, 88 live cartridges, and 25 crude bombs buried there, the SP said.

On the basis of the recovery, Qavi was booked further in another case under Section 3/25 of the Arms Act and 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act at Police Station Sarai Akil, he said. The SP said Qavi has been held in district Jail, Lucknow since his surrender before the Special Judicial Magistrate CBI court, Lucknow, in the BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case.

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On May 30, Abdul Qavi, arrested in connection with a case registered here, had told Kaushambi Police about illegal weapons he had kept hidden. Qavi was sent to police custody for 36 hours on June 3 at the order of the Chief Judicial Magistrate to make the recovery.

Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead in Prayagraj on the night of April 15 by three men posing as media persons. Both were accused in the murder of Umesh Pal in February this year and the murder of the former BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005. Qavi had been absconding since Raju Pal's murder and had surrendered recently.

(With inputs from PTI)