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SP leader fears for lives of Atiq’s minor sons
Samajwadi Party (SP) general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav has warned that one of the two sons of jailed mafiosi-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed will be killed in a police encounter soon
Samajwadi Party (SP) general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav has warned that one of the two sons of jailed mafiosi-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed will be killed in a police encounter soon.
In Etawah, on Tuesday, Ram Gopal Yadav also called the encounters of the two alleged accused killed as fake.
Talking to newspersons in Etawah, he said, “In the recent Prayagraj murder (of Umesh Pal), the police are not able to catch the real culprits and thus are under immense pressure from the top to catch and kill whoever is within grasp. Watch out, in a day or two one of the sons of Atiq Ahmed will be killed in a fake encounter.”
Atiq Ahmed has five sons. Umar Ahmed, Ali Ahmed, Asad Ahmed, Aizaan Ahmed and Abaan Ahmed. Umar and Ali were already in jail much before Umesh Pal was killed. According to the police, Asad is on the run and has ₹2.5 lakh reward on him in the Umesh Pal murder case. Two other sons - both minors - Aizaan and Abaan, also accused in the case, have been sent to the Prayagraj juvenile home by the police.
“Two of Atiq’s sons who are students have been caught by the police (referring to Aizaan and Abaan). Just watch, one of them will be killed by the police in a fake encounter. Obviously, it will be a fake encounter as the police had already caught them,” he said.
He further said: “Our Constitution gives the right to live to all. You cannot take anyone’s life. There is no option other than the legal one (if someone has committed a crime).”
Ram Gopal also warned: “If police kill anyone in a fake encounter, then it is a punishable offence. Today or tomorrow there will be a different dispensation (government in the state). When fake encounters happen, then nothing happens to politicians, but officers responsible will face cases”.
The Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday gunned down a 27-year-old man who allegedly fired the first shot at lawyer Umesh Pal, a key witness in a high-profile Raju Pal murder case, whose daylight murder last week, sparked a political storm and concerns about law and order.
This is the second time in the space of seven days that a suspect in the sensational killing has been killed in an encounter. On February 27, police shot dead a 24-year-old man who allegedly helped the killers escape in an encounter in Prayagraj town.
Before Ram Gopal Yadav, a Samajwadi Party leader and spokesperson IP Singh on Monday called the encounters in the alleged accused in the Umesh Pal murder case as fake. “This looks like the second fake encounter in Prayagraj. Where have the real assailants who gunned down the late Pal ji (Umesh Pal) vanished? Honourable Prime Minister should shut all courts--from lower to Supreme Court---under this bulldozer culture regime”, said IP Singh, a Samajwadi Party spokesperson.
