Lucknow: The lawyer of slain gangster Atiq Ahmed was arrested on Sunday by the Uttar Pradesh Police for his role in the murder of Umesh Pal, the main witness in the killing of BSP MLA Raju Pal, media reports said.

According to the police Atiq Ahmed’s lawyer Vijay Mishra gave the location of Umesh Pal to the shooter assigned to take him down.

He was arrested from outside Hotel Hyatt Legacy in Lucknow late on Saturday night, NDTV reported.

Umesh Pal, the key witness in the murder of Raju Pal, was gunned down in broad daylight. The video of the brazen murder had gone viral, eliciting criticism on the state of law and order in Uttar Pradesh.

After the killing, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had vowed to decimate the mafia in the state.