UP cops target Asad as Yogi vows to decimate mafia

Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed's son Asad is in the spotlight as UP CM Yogi Adityanath has vowed to 'destroy' the criminal gangs in the State.

While the shoot-and-scoot practice of jailed mafia and gangster once again came back to haunt Prayagraj following the killing of Umesh Pal, the key witness in the former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal murder case, the Uttar Pradesh government is leaving no stone unturned to act against the mafia.

Recently, the Uttar Pradesh Police had announced a reward of Rs 2.5 lakh each for giving information about the five people, including gangster and former MP Atiq Ahmad's son Asad, allegedly involved in the killing of Umesh Pal - the prime witness in the 2005 BSP MLA murder case. Besides Asad, the other four accused are Gulam, Guddu and Sabir, a senior official was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.

Asad is the third son of gangster-cum-politician Atiq Ahmed and is said to have taken the reins of Atiq's dreaded gang last August after his two elder brothers had surrendered in court, according to reports. Atiq Ahmed is the prime accused in the Raju Pal murder case and is currently lodged in a Sabarmati jail in Gujarat.

The report further said that the police suspect that Asad took instructions from Atiq from jail over calls to plan the murder of Umesh Pal. Asad is said to have rallied the other shooters and is seen in the CCTV images while emerging from a SUV and shooting at Umesh Pal with a pistol.

Who is Atiq Ahmed

A well-known face of SP from Rampur, Atiq Ahmad has been accused in various criminal cases, including the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal. According to news reports, Atiq Ahmad was named as one of the main accused in the murder case of Raju Pal, who had defeated his brother Ashraf in the 2004 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Ahmad was subsequently arrested and faced trial in the case.

In 2019, the Supreme Court of India ordered Atiq Ahmad to be shifted from the Uttar Pradesh prison where he was lodged to the high-security Sabarmati central jail. The court took the decision based on a report submitted by the Uttar Pradesh government, which stated that Ahmad had been involved in a number of criminal activities and had been running a criminal empire from inside the jail.

Accused killed in encounter

Earlier in the day, Vijay alias Usman, an accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, was shot dead by a Prayagraj police team in an encounter here in the early hours of Monday, officials said. Dhumanganj Station House Officer (SHO) Rajesh Kumar Maurya said the encounter took place in Kaundhiyara police station area around 5.30 am. He said Usman was involved in the shooting of Umesh Pal and two other policemen on February 24.

A couple of days later, Arbaz, who allegedly drove the SUV of the assailants, was killed in an encounter with the police in Prayagraj.

Umesh Pal, the key witness in the former BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case, and his police security guards Sandeep Nishad and Raghvendra Singh were shot in broad daylight on a busy street in Prayagraj on February 24. While Pal died on the same day, the security personnel died later during treatment.

Atiq, wife, brother and sons named in FIR

A day after Umesh's death, based on a complaint lodged 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.

They have been booked under IPC sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) and provisions of the Explosive Substances Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act.

Jaya Pal claimed that her husband was the prime witness in the Raju Pal murder case. In 2006, Atiq Ahmed and his aides abducted him and forced him to give a statement in court in their favour. Umesh Pal had registered a complaint in this regard and the case was ongoing.

The incident also led to a furore in the State Assembly after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) of promoting criminals during its rule. The Chief Minister also vowed to destroy the whole mafia and criminal gangs in the State.