In the years that followed, his path took him from the shop counter into the circle of people close to slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad and, eventually, to the list of accused in the murder of lawyer-politician Umesh Pal, with a ₹ 5 lakh reward declared on him, according to police. Before he figured in one of Prayagraj’s most high-profile murder cases, Mohammad Armaan, in his mid-30s, alias Armaan Bihari, was known for a small kebab-paratha shop in Rajapur.
There, he came in contact with Guddu Muslim, an alleged shooter and close associate of Atiq, who was then involved in wholesale chicken supply. Through Guddu, he came into contact with people linked to the Atiq family. One such link was businessman Nafis Biryani, considered close to Atiq’s brother Ashraf. Nafis ran a shop in Civil Lines where Armaan frequently spent time. By then, Atiq was lodged in Sabarmati jail in Gujarat and Ashraf in Bareilly jail. Family members and close associates regularly travelled to the two prisons to meet them.
A native of Gaya in Bihar, Armaan arrived in Prayagraj in 2012 and opened his shop under the Cantonment police station area. A Dhoomanganj police team reached the jail on September 30, obtained Armaan’s latest photograph and took his thumb impressions. Police subsequently moved the Gaya court for his transit remand on October 1. Armaan was brought to Prayagraj on October 4 and produced before a court on October 5. The SC/ST sessions court accepted his transit remand and directed that he be produced again after 14 days.
The association grew, with Armaan beginning to stay with Guddu Muslim and handing over his shop to his younger brother Imran, police said. Police said Armaan met Sabir, another close associate of the Atiq family, through Nafis. Armaan, Guddu Muslim and Sabir also began accompanying them, bringing Armaan closer to the family, police said. Police said it was during this period that the conspiracy to kill Umesh Pal was allegedly set in motion.
As Shaista campaigned, Guddu Muslim, Sabir and Armaan allegedly accompanied her. His proximity to the family grew further in early 2023, after Atiq’s wife Shaista Parveen joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on January 5 and was made its mayoral candidate in Prayagraj.
