Who is Guddu Muslim - the gangster Atiq's brother Ashraf mentioned in his last words?

As gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were being escorted by a cordon comprising at least a dozen Uttar Pradesh policemen for a "routine medical checkup" at a Prayagraj hospital, they were shot by 3 assailants, who shouted "Jai Shri Ram", as can be heard in videos that went viral on social media in the aftermath of the duo's cold-blooded murder.

Atiq's brother Ashraf Ahmed's last words, captured on video, were, "Main baat yeh hai ki Guddu Muslim..." (The main thing is that Guddu Muslim…). While it is impossible to determine what Ahmed was going to say, understanding who Guddu Muslim is might help us make a better-informed guess.

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Guddu Muslim is Atiq Ahmed's co-accused in the Umesh Pal murder case. Umesh Pal was a lawyer and the prime witness in the 2005 murder case of Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal. Umesh was killed in February this year at the behest of Atiq Ahmed, who was the main accused in the Raju Pal murder case. In a video that went viral on social media, Guddu Muslim can purpotedly be seen throwing crude bombs in the shootout site where Umesh Pal was killed.

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Known as a bomb specialist, Guddu Muslim was locally known as 'bombaaz' (loosely translated to someone very capable with bombs). Speaking with news publication The Print, a senior police offer said, “The composure and ease of Guddu Muslim makes one feel as if he is throwing flowers and not bombs”. “They show you those gangsters in Bollywood movies who are short tempered and unpredictable. So people would just freeze in time when he passed through the road," a local Prayagraj resident told the publication.

Guddu was first arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police in the 1997 murder of Frederick Gomes, who was a physical training instructor at La Martiniere College in Lucknow. Released on bail due to insuffient evidence, Guddu is thought to have joined Gorakhpur don Satyendra Singh and later, Parvez Tada. Police sources also told The Print that Guddu worked for don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari before joining Atiq Ahmed. He is also thought to have been associated with gangsters Dhananjay Singh and Abhay Singh,.

Recent unconfirmed media reports suggest that Guddu Muslim might be hiding in Karnataka, and is on the run, fearing for his life. Valuable information about him carries a reward of Rs 5 lakh.