4 gunned down since UP CM’s ‘mafia ko mitti me mila denge’ comment

"Iss House mein keh raha hoon. Iss mafia ko mitti me mila denge," were the words of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath on the floor to the assembly.

The comments were made on February 25, following the murder of Umesh Pal, a lawyer and key witness in the murder case of Raju Pal, a BSP MLA in 2005.

The assembly was convened to discuss the Governor's address. During the address, the Opposition Samajwadi Party questioned the law and order situation in the state, while raising the Umesh Pal murder case.

Yogi Adityanath had said then that the mafia will be destroyed.

Within 50 days of that statement being made, four of the five people involved in the Umesh Pal murder case have been killed in three separate police encounters.

Dreaded gangster Atiq Ahmed, the main accused in the Umesh Pal murder case along with his brother are in jail. His son, Asad and an aide, Ghulam were killed in an encounter on Thursday. Atiq Ahmed is in jail after he was handed out a life-term. In the case.

On February 24 this year, UmeshPal was shot dead in Prayagraj. His family accused Atiq, his wife Shahista Parveen, brother Ashraf and Asad among those responsible for the murder.

The murder that took place in day light was captured on camera. The police had identified Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman, Arbaz, Asad Ahmed, Ghulam and Guddu Muslim as those involved in the murder.

All the five accused have been on the run since the murder of Umesh Pal. On February 278, just two days after the murder of Pal, Arbaz was killed in an encounter. On March 6, Vijay Chaudhary was also killed in an encounter.

Thursday's encounter in which two were killed marks the fourth since the murder of Umesh Pal.