UP Panel Finds Police Encounters in Umesh Pal Case Legitimate

A judicial inquiry commission has confirmed the authenticity of three police encounters in Uttar Pradesh, where suspects in the Umesh Pal murder case were killed. The report, presented in the UP Assembly on Thursday, declared these encounters as genuine acts of self-defence.

Among those killed was Asad Ahmed, son of the deceased gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed. The commission's findings were based on medical examinations, postmortem reports, and forensic evidence. "The veracity of the above three incidents is proved by the medical examination and postmortem reports of the deceased available on file and the evidence of the examined scientists of the Forensic Science Laboratory," stated the report.

Details of Encounters

The first encounter occurred on February 27, 2023, in Dhumanganj, Prayagraj, resulting in Arbaaz's death. The second took place on March 6, 2023, in Kaundhiara, Prayagraj, where Vijay Kumar Chaudhary alias Usman was killed. The third encounter happened in Jhansi, leading to the deaths of Asad Ahmed and Mohammad Ghulam.

Governor Anandi Ben Patel had ordered a two-member judicial inquiry commission in April to investigate these encounters. Justice Rajiv Lochan Mehrotra, retired from Allahabad High Court, chaired the panel with Vijay Kumar Gupta, retired DG of UP Police, as a member.

Forensic and Medical Evidence

The report highlighted that injuries sustained by the deceased were from bullets fired from a distance. "All the doctors have also confirmed through their evidence that the injuries sustained by all the deceased were from the front," it noted. Additionally, injuries to policemen were also caused by firearms and not self-inflicted.

The weapons recovered from Arbaaz and Vijay Kumar Choudhary during the encounters were linked to Umesh Pal's murder. "Undisputedly, the above three encounters are between the police and the accused related to the Umesh Pal murder case," stated the report.

Background of Umesh Pal Case

Umesh Pal was an advocate who testified against individuals with a long criminal history. He was a key witness in the 2005 murder case of BSP MLA Raju Pal. Umesh Pal was shot dead at his residence in Prayagraj in February 2023.

Raju Pal had been murdered months after winning an assembly seat by defeating Khalid Azim, Atiq Ahmed's younger brother. Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were prime suspects in Raju Pal's murder case.

Commission's Conclusion

The commission concluded that police acted within their right of self-defence during these encounters. "This act of the police parties comes under the right of self-defence given to them by law," it stated. The panel found no evidence of malice or conspiracy among policemen involved.

The commission also noted that police had given sufficient opportunity for surrender before opening fire. "The police opened fire at the accused only in self-defence which resulted in the death of the accused," according to their findings.

The judicial panel's report provides a detailed account confirming that these encounters were legitimate and conducted lawfully without any personal interest or fault by police officers involved.