Days after Atiq Ahmed was killed in full view of television cameras, the connection of the gangster-turned-politician in the murder of a Umesh Pal was questioned by authorities and the media.
Pal was shot dead outside his home in February this year; he was a witness to the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal.
On 23 March, Times Now NavBharat, a Hindi news channel, aired a video in its prime time show "News ka Pathshala" showing a man walking with Atiq Ahmed’s wife, Shaista Parveen, who is also one of the accused in Pal’s murder. The claimed that the man in the video is one of the alleged killers of Umesh Pal.
The channel identified him as Arman, one of the 10 accused in Pal’s murder.
Turns out, the man in the video is a 21-year-old college student and a budding singer who has no relation with Atiq Ahmed’s family.
“I have no relation with the case,” the resident of Allahabad told BOOM.
He said that the video used by the channel is an old one from January when Atik’s wife had visited their locality for campaign for the upcoming municipality polls. Parveen had been given a ticket by the Bhahujan Samaj Party to contest the mayoral election in Prayagraj.
The television anchor in the show said that the police have launched a massive manhunt for Arman. He also said that they have announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for information on Arman, all the while showing 21-year-old Aakif Hammad's photo.
BOOM found a copy of the FIR in the Pal murder case. Pal's wife Jaya in her complaint recorded in the FIR names Atiq, his brother, his wife, his son and two more people Guddu Muslim and Ghulam. “I will recognize the other accused after seeing them,” the FIR quotes her saying.
“Shaista had come to my locality for the election campaign and it's normal for people to join the crowd. I was there too, like many others. I have no connection with the family,” Aakif told BOOM explaining the reason why he was seen with her.
BOOM called SHO Dhoomanganj for comments on the case and accusations against Arman but he did not respond. Superintendent of Police Prayagraj Deepak Bhuker dropped the call after hearing the question from this reporter.
Aakif is a college student and pursues a Bachelor of Arts in Prayagraj. A budding singer, he also performs in live shows. But since the news channel called him a ‘shooter’ his life has changed. He has stopped getting shows and says that he often gets threatening calls.
“I am just a student in B. A. 3rd year and an artist by passion who performs on live shows,” he said adding that the “fake news video” has “dented his reputation”.
The 21-year-old found out about the news when one of his friends called him and told him that he was on the news channel, being called a ‘shooter involved in the Umesh Pal murder’.
“I got so many calls from people. My image has been tarnished. My family is so worried all the time that I have stopped going out,” he said. His upcoming shows have been cancelled since the video went viral.
He approached the channel and wrote multiple emails explaining to them that the video was misleading. “I tried all I could, including calling their officers and the grievance department to get the video removed,” he said.
The channel eventually took down the video from YouTube. BOOM has an archived version of the video. However, for Aakif, “it was too little, too late.”
“The damage has been done,” he said. He said he wants the channel to put out a video seeking an apology and issuing clarifications. “I want the channel to issue a declaration that they made a mistake and that the individual in the video is not the shooter Arman.”
BOOM reached out to the channel for comment. However, two days since we emailed the channel we have got no response. The story will be updated if they respond.
Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were killed on April 15 by three men while being taken to a hospital for a medical check-up in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh; they were under police custody. Two days before, his son Asad Ahmed and an aide Ghulam Hassan were killed by the STF in an encounter in Jhansi on April 13. Guddu Muslim and Atiq’s wife Shaista Parveen, who carry cash rewards on their heads, remain elusive.
Many news channels have been running noisy coverage of the Umesh Pal murder following Atiq Ahmad's killing. According to the police, six accused, including Atiq, Ashraf, Asad and Ghulam, have so far been killed and eight others arrested in the Umesh Pal murder case.