Prayagraj: Days after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath warned that his government will decimate criminals and mafias across the state, the UP Police on Monday gunned down one of the accused in the sensational killing of Umesh Pal - a prime witness in the 2005 murder case of the then BSP MLA Raju Pal in an encounter here.


How Was Umesh Pal Murder Accused Arbaaz Tracked & Killed? 


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Police claimed that they retaliated when the accused opened fire at them. A police officer was injured during the encounter, they said. Deputy Commissioner of Police Navendu Kumar later shared that Arbaaz, who was the driver of the white SUV used by the assailants to attack witness Umesh Pal, was surrounded by police teams following an intelligence input.


He opened fire at the police and was injured in the ensuing encounter in Nehru Park under Dhoomanganj police station at around 3 pm, Kumar said. He was taken to hospital where doctors declared him dead, the officer said.


 



 


"Arbaaz was accompanied by two or three other people who managed to escape from the spot. We are trying to track them," the officer added. Umesh Pal and his police security guard Sandeep Nishad was shot dead on Friday outside his home in the Dhoomanganj area of Prayagraj. Another security guard Raghvendra Singh, who was injured in the attack, was admitted to SRN Hospital in critical condition and was referred to Lucknow on Sunday.


Case Registered Against Gangster Atiq Ahmed 


 


On the basis of a complaint lodged by Umesh Pal's wife Jaya Pal, a case was registered at Dhoomanganj police station against gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Gulam and nine others.


They have been booked under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Explosive Substances Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act, police said.


‘Mitti Me Mila Denge’


 


UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had vowed to destroy the mafias after the opposition Samajwadi Party had questioned the law and order situation in the state in the wake of the February 24 killing. Police also arrested a lawyer who lived in an Allahabad University hostel and searched his room where the attack on the witness, police claimed, was planned.


Commissioner of Police, Ramit Sharma, later told reporters here that an award of Rs 50,000 was announced on the head of Arbaaz (25), a resident of the Sallahpur area of the district. Sharma said that the SHO of Dhoomanganj police station Rajesh Kumar Maurya got injured in his arm by a gunshot during the encounter and he is undergoing treatment at SRN Hospital. "A 0.32 bore pistol, four live cartridges and a motorcycle without a number plate have been recovered from Arbaaz," he added.


 


Giving information about other police action in the Umesh Pal murder case, Sharma said that the name of one Sadakat Khan, a resident of Ghazipur, has also come to light in this conspiracy. He is a practising lawyer who was staying at Allahabad University hostel. Police said they are looking into how he was staying in the hostel. STF arrested Khan on Monday and he is being interrogated, the officer said.


"Sadakat Khan lived in the Muslim hostel of Allahabad University and the conspiracy of the attack was hatched in his room," Sharma said. "Sadakat Khan has given the names of some people involved in this conspiracy. He has also given information about calls made through social media apps. His room was searched by the police team in his presence. While returning, Khan tried to flee but fell after colliding with a divider. He has sustained some injuries," he added.


 



 



 


Sharma added that 10 police teams are conducting raids to arrest the accused named in the FIR. The news about killing of Arbaaz in an encounter also found a mention in the Vidhan Sabha.


During the discussion on the budget estimates for the financial year 2023-24 after the Question Hour in the state assembly, BJP MLA Shalabh Mani Tripathi said that "after the unfortunate incident of Prayagraj, the chief minister had said that they (attackers) will be destroyed ("Mitti mein mila denge") and now news is coming that one of the criminals involved in Umesh Pal's murder has been buried in the soil. The police killed him in an encounter."


Pointing to the opposition, Tripathi said, "You have to understand that this is not the pre-2017 government. This is Yogi Adityanath's government. One (accused) has been killed and the remaining ones will also be destroyed (mitti mein mila diye jayenge)...You take note of this."
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna told the Legislative Assembly that the state government has taken serious note of the killing of Umesh Pal in the House and that the guilty will be punished.


SP MLA Pooja Pal Alleges Threat To Life, Demands Security


 


Pooja Pal, the sitting Samajwadi Party MLA from Chail and wife of Raju Pal, has demanded security from the police following the incident. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) member Umashankar Singh raised the issue of the murder of a key witness in the murder case of the then MLA Raju Pal and his gunner, under Rule-56 (adjournment) after Question Hour in the Vidhan Sabha.


 



 


The BSP member demanded a high-level inquiry into the matter and action against the culprits. He further demanded a compensation of Rs 5 crore each and government jobs to the family members of the slain key witness and the gunner (constable).


BSP supremo Mayawati Monday said her party would expel mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed's wife Shaista Parveen, named in the FIR in the killing of a prime witness in the Raju Pal murder case, if she was found guilty during the probe. She also charged Samajwadi Party, terming Atiq Ahmed its product.