Former Samajwadi Party MP and five-time MLA, Atiq Ahmed, along with two others, was convicted by a court in Prayagraj for the 2006 kidnapping of Umesh Pal, the prime witness in the BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case. The MP-MLA court sentenced Atiq Ahmed, Dinesh Pasi, and Khan Saulat Hanif to life imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh. This is the first conviction for the jailed don who has over 100 criminal cases against him.
Seven others, including Ahmed's brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, were acquitted in the case. In a related matter, the Supreme Court dismissed Ahmed's plea seeking protection during his custody with Uttar Pradesh police in the Umesh Pal murder case, stating that there is no "substantial" evidence to support his claim of being under threat.
Umesh Pal, who was a zila panchayat member, was a witness to the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005. He was kidnapped on February 28, 2006, when he refused to retract his statement under pressure from Ahmed. The FIR was registered on July 5, 2007, against Ahmed, his brother, and four unidentified people.
Umesh Pal was killed outside his Prayagraj home on February 24, 2008. Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf are accused of being involved in a conspiracy to kill Umesh Pal while they were both in prison.
Ahead of the court hearing on the 17-year-old kidnapping case, Atiq Ahmed was transferred from Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat to Naini Central Jail in Prayagraj amid tight security arrangements.
The conviction of Atiq Ahmed is a significant setback for the former MP and the criminal-political nexus in Uttar Pradesh. It sends a strong message that the law will catch up with those who think they are above it, and justice will be served to victims and their families.
#atiqahmad #umeshpal #upnews #uppolice #umeshpalmurdercase
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