Lucknow : Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed’s lawyer Khan Shoulat Hanif has been booked for criminal conspiracy in the Umesh Pal murder case, an official said on Saturday.Deputy Commissioner of Police (City) Deepak Bhukar said Hanif’s name was added under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code to the FIR registered at Dhoomanganj police station in the Umesh Pal murder case.

“We came to know that Hanif shared pictures of Umesh Pal with Ahmed’s son Asad days before he was attacked,” Bhukar informed.Asad, the third of Ahmed’s five sons, was killed in a police encounter in Jhansi on April 13.

Sources said the police might soon file a remand application in court to interrogate Hanif, who is currently lodged in Naini Central Prison after being sentenced to life imprisonment in the Umesh Pal kidnapping case.

Umesh Pal, a key witness in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, and his two security personnel were shot dead on February 24.On February 25, the police registered a case against Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Ghulam, and nine other accomplices at Dhoomanganj police station.

A special court here on March 28 convicted Ahmed, Hanif and Dinesh Pasi and sentenced them to life in prison in the 17-year-old kidnapping case.Hanif and Pasi were detained in Naini Central Prison while Ahmed was sent to Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad.

Ahmed, a former Samajwadi Party MP, and Ashraf were shot dead on April 15 by three assailants when they were being taken by the police for a medical examination.They were brought here in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case.