Pal murder: Atiq’s son, 4 other shooters suspected to have crossed over to Nepal
The UP Special Task Force (STF), who is investigating the case, has reportedly caught hold of a Nepal businessman Qayyum Ansari who allegedly helped Asad and other shooters to cross over to Nepal via the porous India-Nepal border in Bahraich district
Lucknow Jailed Mafioso Atiq Ahmad’s son Asad and four other shooters—crude bomb expert and Atiq’s close aide Guddu Muslim, Sabir, Armaan and Mohd Gulam— are suspected to have crossed over to Nepal via Bahraich after executing the sensational killings of former MLA Raju Pal murder’s prime witness Umesh Pal and his two police guards in Prayagraj on February 24.
The UP Special Task Force (STF), who is investigating the case, had reportedly caught hold of a Nepal businessman Qayyum Ansari who allegedly helped Asad and other shooters to cross over to Nepal via the porous India-Nepal border in Bahraich district and are questioning him about the shooters’ whereabouts. The state government has announced a reward of ₹5 lakh each for the arrest of the five shooters after identifying them through CCTV footage of the incident.
A police official requesting anonymity said Ansari was the resident of Prayagraj but had been running his business in Nepal’s Kapilvastu district of Lumbini province for the past many years. He said Ansari was said to be closely associated with Atiq Ahmad’s gang and helped the shooters enter Nepal, providing them patronage there. He said the STF was scanning the mobile details and his locations in India on February 24 and 25.
The Uttar Pradesh Police have gone all out to nab the shooters involved in Pal murder case and so far, have searched over 100 places in different districts in UP and outside the state. Besides, the police and administration demolished the houses of four aides of former MP Atiq Ahmad, whose family is believed to be the master-mind behind the assassination. However, despite persistent efforts, so far, the police have not been able to trace five of the identified shooters.
The police have already gunned down two accused, Arbaaz and Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman . While Arbaaz drove the car for the shooters, Usman fired the first shot at Umesh Pal. Apart from this, Atiq Ahmad’s two minor sons have been sent to juvenile home by police. The state machinery has also arrested Sadaqat Khan, the illegal inmate of Muslim Boarding House, for allegedly being part of the murder conspiracy.
Similarly, a cash reward of ₹25,000 has been declared on Atiq Ahmad’s wife Shaista Parveen for allegedly being part of the larger conspiracy to eliminate Umesh Pal. She was also named in the FIR lodged in connection with Umesh Pal’s murder at Prayagraj’s Dhumanganj police station along with her jailed husband Atiq Ahmad, his brother Khalid Azeem (alias Ashraf) and sons Asad, Guddu Muslim, Sabir, Mohd Gulam and Armaan.
