Atiq Ahmed shot dead: Who was Raju Pal, whose 2005 murder led to Umesh Pal’s killing? Know all about the case
Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed was gunned down along with his brother Ashraf on Sunday evening in a dramatic turn of events in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj. Ahmed had recently been brought back from Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail and convicted in the kidnapping of Umesh Pal, who was prime witness in the 2005 Raju Pal murder. It was Umesh Pal’s killing that started a chain of events that led to the headline grabbing return of Atiq from Sabarmati jail in Gujarat to UP.
Raju Pal was a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) politician in Uttar Pradesh. He had lost to Atiq Ahmed in an election in 2002. However, he defeated Atiq’s brother Ashraf in the bypoll for the seat after the gangster had vacated it on being elected to Lok Sabha.
Raju Pal was shot dead in January 2005 while he was on his way to his village. Atiq Ahmed was accused in Raju Pal. Umesh Pal was the prime witness in the Raju Pal murder case. He was killed along with one of his two armed security escorts in Prayagraj’s Sulem Sarai area on February 24 this year. The attackers had fired several rounds and hurled bombs at Umesh and his gunners.
A case was registered against Atiq, Ashraf, Atiq’s wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Ghulam, and nine others on the complaint lodged by Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya Pal.
A UP Police team brought Atiq Ahmad back from the high-security Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad to Prayagraj on March 26. He was produced in court in a 2006 kidnapping case of Umesh Pal. Atiq and two others were sentenced to life imprisonment in the kidnapping case.
Atiq and aides had abducted Umesh Pal in a 2006 case and forced him to give a statement in court in their favor in the Raju Pal murder.
