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Umesh had accused ex-MP of land grab: Police
Atiq’s henchmen allegedly captured land belonging to the lawyer in Peepal Gaon under Dhumanganj police station limits in 2022. The Dhumanganj SHO said Atiq has now been charge-sheeted in the case and non-bailable warrants (NBW) were issued against his men as well
Even as gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his family members have been accused of planning the murder of lawyer Umesh Pal, a key witness in the BSP MLA Raju Pal murder, the strained relationship between the former MP and the latter has come to the fore.
In a comparatively recent episode, Atiq’s henchmen allegedly captured land belonging to the lawyer in Peepal Gaon under Dhumanganj police station limits in 2022. In his police complaint, Umesh Pal aka Krishna Kumar Pal had claimed that he bought the property from the daughter of one Ramdin, a resident of Kaushambi, on March 13, 2018.
The accused demanded an amount of ₹1 crore from Umesh to vacate the land, after which an FIR was lodged against four named and six unnamed ‘henchmen’ of Atiq Ahmad at the Dhumanganj police station on August 24, 2022, police officials confirmed.
The Dhumanganj SHO said Atiq has now been charge-sheeted in the case and non-bailable warrants (NBW) were issued against his men as well.
“A case was registered against the close aides of former MP at the Dhumanganj police station and we have charge-sheeted Atiq Ahmad in the case wherein the complainant, Umesh Pal, had claimed that an extortion of ₹1 crore was demanded from him by Atiq’s men at the latter’s behest,” said SHO Rajesh Kumar Maurya.
The four others named in the FIR were absconding and NBWs were issued against all of them, he added. In his police complaint, Umesh had named Khalid Zafar, Mohammad Muslim, Dilip Kushwaha and Abu Saad, all alleged close aides of Atiq.
Now, the police were also investigating the ‘land grab’ angle as a probable reason for the murder conspiracy. Umesh Pal was murdered on February 24 allegedly by the shooters of Atiq’s gang. Two policemen assigned to protect Umesh Pal also succumbed later to their injuries sustained during the attack.
