A crude bomb was hurled in a bylane near the residence of a lawyer of Atiq Ahmad on Tuesday, sparking panic in the area as the incident came just three days after the sensational killing of the gangster-turned politician and his brother.
No one was injured in the incident in Katra locality and a case has been registered, police said and claimed Atiq's lawyer Dayashankar Mishra was not the target and the incident was a fallout of personal enmity between two youths. However, the lawyer claimed that it was an attempt "to create fear and terror".
In a statement issued in Lucknow, Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said, "On getting information about a bomb being hurled in Gobarwali Gali, police reached the spot... it emerged that Harshit Sonkar had a dispute with Akash Singh, Raunak Yadav and Chhote Singh, due to which Harshit attacked them with a bomb. However, no one was injured."
"This attack took place in a bylane in front of the residence of Dayashankar Mishra. However, rumour is being spread that Dayashankar Mishra was attacked. This is false information. The spot is being inspected and there is no problem of law and order," the statement said.
Though Atiq's lawyer, who rushed to the house from the court on getting information about the incident, said his daughter and locals told him about three bombs, the police maintained that only one crude bomb exploded.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Shivkuti, Rajesh Kumar Yadav said the culprit will be arrested soon.
"I was in the court when my son informed me that bombs had been hurled. I rushed home. ...I think this has been done to frighten me, to create terror. It is a big conspiracy... It is for the police to find out who is behind this," Atiq's lawyer Dayashankar Mishra told reporters.
"My daughter and the locals saw that there was one person involved and three bombs were hurled," he claimed.
Mishra had represented Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf in the 2006 case of abduction of Umesh Pal, who was a witness in the 2005 murder of then BSP MLA Raju Pal and was shot dead on February 24 this year allegedly at the gangster's behest.
Atiq Ahmad (60) and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists during a media scrum on Saturday night while police personnel were escorting the duo to a medical college in Prayagraj for a checkup.
The brothers, both jailed in Prayagraj, were in handcuffs when they were killed on Saturday night in full view of camera crews around 10 pm.
The three assailants - Lavlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda, Mohit alias Sunny (23) of Hamirpur and Arun Maurya (18) of Kasganj - were arrested soon after the dramatic shootout that took place in full view of camera crews outside the Prayagraj hospital.
They were shifted to Pratapgarh jail Monday from Naini jail in Prayagraj for security reasons.
Atiq's son is also lodged in Naini jail.