The Uttar Pradesh police probing the Umesh Pal murder case has made several new revelations in the case. The police revealed that not 6 but 13 shooters were allegedly involved in Pal’s murder last week. While six shooters opened fire at Umesh Pal, seven armed assailants waited as backups. The shooters sprayed bullets on Umesh Pal, six of them hitting Pal. After using a crude bomb to engulf the area in smoke, the assailants fled from the scene of the crime.
उमेश पाल हत्याकांड में 6 नहीं 13 शूटर शामिल थे: मुस्लिम हॉस्टल में साजिश रची गई, जेल में बंद अतीक-अशरफ वॉट्सऐप से शूटर्स से जुड़ते थे#umeshpal #UttarPradesh #Prayagraj https://t.co/LJz0l6Ncdg pic.twitter.com/PEUGevPSob
— Dainik Bhaskar (@DainikBhaskar) February 28, 2023
The second revelation made by Prayagraj police is that the assailants used Whatsapp to communicate with gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, who are being held in Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Prison and Bareilly jail respectively. According to the police, Atiq and Ashraf had given instructions to the assailants from jail over Whatsapp calls.
Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma also revealed that Sadaqat Khan, the key conspirator in the case who was apprehended by STF from Gorakhpur on Monday, confessed during interrogation that he was living illegally in room number 36 of Allahabad University’s Muslim Boarding Hostel. The entire conspiracy to kill Umesh Pal was apparently hatched and executed from this hostel room. His connection with the Samajwadi Party has also come to the fore.
दिनांकः-28.02.2023
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE PRAYAGRAJ (@prayagraj_pol) February 28, 2023
दैनिक समाचार पत्रों में #पुलिस_कमिश्नरेट_प्रयागराज के सम्बन्ध में प्रकाशित मुख्य खबरें।#PoliceCommessioneratePrayagraj#UPPInNews pic.twitter.com/qUwVd9ONDL
Sadaqat Khan, a lawyer by profession, was trying to escape to Nepal when he was nabbed by police, added Ramit Sharma.
Ties between key conspirator in Umesh Pal murder case Sadaqat Khan and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav
After the arrest of Sadaqat Khan on Monday, the suspected ties between him and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the Umesh Pal murder conspiracy have come to light. According to reports, Sadaqat Khan is said to be close to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
After Khan’s arrest, a picture surfaced on social media in which SP leader Akhilesh Yadav and the primary suspect Sadaqat Khan can be seen shaking hands with each other. Sadaqat was detained by police from an Allahabad University Muslim Boarding Hostel on Monday, February 27. Police said they are looking into how he was staying in the hostel.
Sadaqat is a resident of Ghazipur’s Bara Gahmar village, according to ADG STF Amitabh Yash. Sadaqat, 27, had tried to intimidate the police by claiming to be an Allahabad High Court lawyer at the time of his detention. The cops escorted him to the Muslim boarding house, room 36. Numerous vital clues have been discovered in his room during the STF teams’ search. When questioned, Sadaqat revealed that he intended to flee to Nepal when he was apprehended.
Atiq Ahmed a product of Samajwadi Party: Mayawati
It may be recalled that after the Umesh Pal murder case hit the headlines, BSP party supremo Mayawati responded, calling Atiq Ahmed a product of the Samajwadi Party. She had also said that the wife of Atiq Ahmed would be expelled from the party if she is found guilty of the murder.
The Prayagraj Police have highlighted Atiq Ahmed’s association with the homicide of Umesh Pal, given that his two sons were apprehended in connection with the case. This occurred subsequent to the shooting of Umesh Pal on Friday evening by unidentified attackers at his home in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
Since the murder of Umesh Pal, at least ten teams of UP Police and other agencies have been carrying out raids at various places. During the investigation, the Creta car used in Umesh Pal’s murder was recovered from Atiq Ahmed’s house. Atiq Ahmed is one of the accused in the Raju Pal murder case as well.
दि0 24/2/23 को गवाह उमेश पाल की नृशंस हत्या का आरोपी अरबाज़ @prayagraj_pol से प्रयागराज में हुई मुठभेड़ में घायल होने के उपरांत अस्पताल में मृत घोषित हुआ है।#UPPolice माफियाओं एवं अपराधियों के प्रति ज़ीरो टॉलरेंस की नीति के तहत सख़्त कार्यवाही करेगी।
— UP POLICE (@Uppolice) February 27, 2023
Prashant Kr. ADG LO UP
1/2 pic.twitter.com/kBgaVVOIxq
On Monday, February 27, shooter Arbaaz, one of the prime accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, was killed in a police encounter in Prayagraj. As per police, Arbaaz was the one driving the Creta car which was used in the murder of Umesh Pal.
Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 murder case of BSP leader Raju Pal, was killed on February 24.
Raju Pal was murdered on 26 January 2005 soon after he was elected as an MLA after defeating Atiq Ahmed’s brother Ashraf on a BSP ticket. In 2004, Atiq was elected MP from the Phoolpur constituency. Pal’s wife had accused Atiq, his brother, and three others of murdering her husband.
