Slain gangster politician Atiq Ahmed’s lawyer Khan Shoulat Hanif has been accused of criminal conspiracy in relation to the Umesh Pal murder case, media reports said.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Deepak Bhukar, Hanif's name was added to the FIR registered at Prayagraj's Dhoomanganj police station under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, a report in the media stated.

The report quoted Bhukar as saying that the police have found that Hanif shared Umesh Pal’s photo with Ahmed's son Asad days before he was attacked.

On April 13, Asad, who was on the run to evade arrest in the Umesh Pal murder case, was killed in a police encounter in UP’s Jhansi along with his close aide Ghulam.

Two days later, on April 15, Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were gunned down by three shooters, who came posing as journalists, despite heavy security while being taken for regular medical check-up in Praygraj. The entire shooting was captured live on camera.

Umesh Pal, a key witness in the murder case of BSP MLA Raju Pal, was killed along with his two security personnel in Prayagraj on February 24.

The day after the incident, an FIR was lodged against Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, associates Ghulam and Guddu Muslim, and nine others at the Dhoomanganj police station.

Hanif, Atiq, and Dinesh Pasi were found guilty by a special court in Prayagraj on March 28 of the Umesh Pal kidnapping case and were sentenced to life imprisonment.