Atiq Ahmed's Son Asad, His Aide Ghulam Killed In Encounter With UPSTF In Jhansi

The Uttar Pradesh Police STF on Thursday killed Atiq Ahmed's son Asad and his close aide Ghulam in an encounter in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case.

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Police STF on Thursday killed Atiq Ahmed's son Asad and his close aide Ghulam in an encounter in Jhansi. Both were wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case of Prayagraj and carrying a reward of Rs five lakhs each. The police said it has also recovered sophisticated foreign-made weapons from them. Visuals showed two bodies lying beside a motorbike at the site of the alleged encounter. An ambulance later took them away. Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 murder case of BSP MLA Raju Pal, and his two police security guards were shot dead outside his home in Prayagraj's Dhoomanganj area on February 24 this year.

#WATCH | Former MP Atiq Ahmed's son Asad, aide killed in an encounter by UP STF in Jhansi

Visuals from the encounter site pic.twitter.com/kL3fUrr7S7

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 13, 2023

Bodies of criminals Asad and Ghulam brought to Jhansi Medical College for examination, news agency ANI reportea

#WATCH | Bodies of criminals Asad and Ghulam brought to Jhansi Medical College for examination

Former MP Atiq Ahmed's son Asad and aide were killed in an encounter by UP STF in Jhansi today. They were wanted in lawyer Umesh Pal murder case. pic.twitter.com/EmR2SCYZhe — ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 13, 2023

Based on a complaint by Umesh Pal's wife Jaya Pal, a case was registered at Dhoomanganj police station against Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Ghulam, and nine others.

The FIR was lodged under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons), 149 (unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. Ahmed is also an accused in the 2005 Raju Pal murder case.

Days after Umesh Pal's murder, Uttar Pradesh Police had gunned down a 24-year-old Arbaaz wanted for his alleged role in the killing.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya congratulated the Uttar Pradesh Police and the STF for the action. "Nobody will touch you if you don't commit a crime. And nobody will be spared if they Commit a crime," news agency PTI Maurya as saying. He said this was a BJP government and not an SP government that criminals would be spared.

यूपी STF को बधाई देता हूँ, श्री उमेश पाल एडवोकेट और पुलिस के जवानों के हत्यारों को यही हश्र होना था! — Keshav Prasad Maurya (@kpmaurya1) April 13, 2023

Atiq Ahmed Produced In Prayagraj Court 

Meanwhile, Atiq Ahmed and his brother were produced before a court in Prayagraj on Thursday in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case. They were presented in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Dinesh Gautam around 11:10 am amid security deployment. While Atiq Ahmed was brought to Prayagraj via road from Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat for his production, his brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf was brought from a Bareilly jail.

In 2006, Ahmed and his aides abducted Umesh Pal and forced him to give a statement in court in their favour. Umesh Pal had registered a complaint in this regard. The Supreme Court had in April 2019 directed that Ahmed be shifted to a high-security jail in Gujarat after he was accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and assault of a real estate businessman Mohit Jaiswal while in jail.

Ahmed has been named in more than 100 criminal cases, including the recent Umesh Pal murder case, police said. Among the most sensational murders in which Ahmed is allegedly involved was that of Raju Pal, the then Bahujan Samaj Party MLA who was shot dead in 2005. Ahmed last month moved the Supreme Court for protection, claiming he and his family have been falsely implicated as accused in the Umesh Pal murder case in Prayagraj and he may be killed in a fake encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Police.

CM Yogi Chairs Meet On Law And Order

Moments after the encounter of Asad and his aide, CM Yogi Adityanath took a meeting on law and order in the state, news agency ANI quoted UP CM's office as saying. The CM also praised UP STF as well as DGP, Special DG law and order and the entire team. "Sanjay Prasad, Principal Secretary Home informed the CM about the encounter. A report was placed in front of the CM on this whole matter," UP CMO said.