E-Paper
Atiq Ahmad’s son Asad, accused of killing Umesh Pal, shot dead in encounter: Cop
Asad Ahmad and Ghulam were killed in an encounter with an STF team led by two deputy superintendent of police, Navendu and Vimal, in Jhansi
Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad’s son Asad, who is accused of firing the shots that killed lawyer Umesh Pal on February 24, and his associate Ghulam were shot dead in a gunfight with the Uttar Pradesh special task force (STF) in Jhansi district, UP’s special director general, law and order, Prashant Kumar said on Thursday.
Asad Ahmad and Ghulam were killed in an encounter with an STF team led by two deputy superintendent of police, Navendu and Vimal, in Jhansi. A motorcycle and imported firearms have been seized from their possession, said STF additional director general Amitabh Yash.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath complimented the STF team for the action after he was briefed about the encounter by the principal secretary home, Sanjay Prasad. A report was placed in front of the CM on this whole matter, the CMO said.
Also Read: 5 things about Atiq Ahmad’s son Asad, who was shot dead in encounter
Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya tweeted his congratulations to UP Police. “This had to be the fate of the killers of advocate Umesh Pal and the police guards,” he said in his one-line post on Twitter.
Umesh Pal was shot dead along with his two security guards by a gang of shooters in front of his house in Dhoomanganj area of Prayagraj on February 24. He was the prime witness in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in Prayagraj on January 25, 2005 in which Atiq Ahmad and his younger brother Khalid Azeem alias Ashraf were prime accused. Umesh Pal had also filed five cases against Atiq Ahmad and his aides over the years.
A police officer said Asad Ahmad was seen in one of the videos emerging out of a white sports utility vehicle and firing indiscriminately at Umesh Pal. The UP government, which initially had a ₹2.5 lakh reward for information leading to his arrest, raised the reward to ₹5 lakh on March 13.
The officer said Asad Ahmad was the only adult in Atiq Ahmad’s family who was not in jail. Asad’s two elder brothers, Umar and Ali, have been in jail in different cases for months. Atiq Ahmad’s brother Ashraf has also been in jail for years.
Umar has been in Lucknow district jail since August 2022 after he surrendered in a CBI court in Lucknow in connection with his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and torturing of a Lucknow relator Mohit Jaiswal in 2018 by taking him to Deoria jail where Atiq Ahmad was then kept by the authorities.
Police said Ali is at Naini central prison in Prayagra after his arrest on a complaint filed against him in July 2022 that accused him of trying to kill him. He was granted bail in this case but continued to be in prison because of the pendency of another case.
