The accused have been identified as Dayaram and Shiv Hari Awasthi. (representational)
The Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday arrested two people, including a prison official, for allegedly facilitating meets between jailed former MLA Mohammad Ashraf alias Khalid Azim, the younger brother of gangster-turned-politician and former Samajwadi Party leader Atiq Ahmed, and his aides.
The accused have been identified as Dayaram and Shiv Hari Awasthi.
Akhilesh Chaurasia, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bareilly said, "Irregularities have come to the fore. Ashraf's brother-in-law Saddam used to meet him in jail with the help of jail guard Shiv Hari Awasthi."
He further said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to investigate the matter thoroughly and efforts are being made to arrest Saddam.
"Dayaram, who supplies vegetables to the jail, used to take other outside items to Ashraf. Dayaram and Shiv Hari Awasthi have been arrested. An SIT has been formed to investigate the matter thoroughly. Efforts are being made to arrest Saddam," he added.
Notably, Ashraf has been in the Bareilly district jail since July 2020 and Atiq Ahmed, who is the main accused in a 2005 murder case, is lodged in a Gujarat jail. Atiq and Ashraf were recently charged over the killing of Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 murder of Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal.
Earlier, Prayagraj Police conducted a raid at Atiq Ahmed's residence in Lucknow, seizing two luxury cars from the Universal Apartments. The raid came after Umesh Pal and his two security personnel were shot dead in Prayagraj on February 24.
The police conducted the raid after receiving an input that some shooters had taken shelter in that apartment. However, they had left the place before the raid, police sources said.
Meanwhile, an accused was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday. Vijay Chowdhary alias Usman was killed in the encounter in Kaundhiyara in Prayagraj.