Bareilly (UP), Mar 21 (PTI) Two men who had allegedly met former MLA Ashraf illegally in jail have been arrested, an official said on Tuesday.

Ashraf, the brother of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, has been lodged in the Bareilly district prison since July 2020. Ahmed, currently lodged in a Gujarat prison, is the main accused in the 2005 murder case of BSP legislator Raju Pal. Atiq and Ashraf were recently booked in connection with the killing of Umesh Pal, a key witness in the murder case.

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The arrested duo were identified as Mohammad Raza alias Lalla Gaddi and Mohammad Arif, a resident of Pilibhit. They were nabbed by a joint team of of the Special Operations Group and officers from the Bithri Chainpur police station, Superintendent of Police (City) Rahul Bhati said.

Raza was arrested from Bareilly while Arif was nabbed from his home in Pilibhit.

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Earlier, a prison guard and another person were arrested for allegedly facilitating meetings between Ashraf and his close aides illegally.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)