When the UP Police were hot on the pursuit of the assailants who gunned down lawyer Umesh Pal and his two police security personnel and were hunting the Atiq Ahmed gang, one of the alleged members of the hit team had already planned his exit. As investigators piece together how “absconding” accused Mohammad Armaan was found in a Bihar jail, it has emerged that he had got himself behind bars in Bihar’s Gaya just three days after the gruesome murder.
Armaan, a native of Gaya, allegedly returned there after the February 24, 2023 killings and opened fire at a shop near Katari Talab in Gaya, according to investigators. A case was registered and he surrendered before a local court on February 27, 2023, 72 hours after Umesh Pal and his two police security personnel were shot dead in broad daylight in Prayagraj.
The timing of his surrender has now emerged as a key line of inquiry as police investigate how an accused considered absconding in the Umesh Pal murder case for more than three years remained in judicial custody in Bihar.
Officials said Armaan has remained in Gaya Central Jail since February 27, 2023, and has not applied for bail in the firing case. Investigators are examining whether his decision to surrender in the separate case was intended to keep him behind bars and away from the UP Police manhunt.
There is, however, no conclusive evidence yet to establish that Armaan deliberately engineered the Gaya firing or planned his surrender to evade arrest in the Umesh Pal case. The suspicion stems from the timing of his surrender and his subsequent decision to remain in judicial custody for years.
{{/usCountry}}There is, however, no conclusive evidence yet to establish that Armaan deliberately engineered the Gaya firing or planned his surrender to evade arrest in the Umesh Pal case. The suspicion stems from the timing of his surrender and his subsequent decision to remain in judicial custody for years.
{{/usCountry}}The chronology is striking. Umesh Pal and his two police security personnel were killed on February 24, 2023. Armaan surrendered in Gaya on February 27. On March 14, the reward for information leading to his arrest in the Umesh Pal case was raised to ₹5 lakh.
For more than 43 months thereafter, Armaan remained in Gaya Central Jail while the Prayagraj Police continued to treat him as a wanted accused.
A Prayagraj Police team visited Gaya Central Jail in September, verified his identity and obtained his latest photograph and thumb impressions. The police subsequently approached the Gaya court on October 1 for his transit remand.
“Transit remand has been granted and he will be brought to Prayagraj on Monday,” Prayagraj additional commissioner of police (Law and Order) Ajay Pal Sharma said on Saturday.
Police have alleged that CCTV footage from the Umesh Pal crime scene showed Armaan riding a motorcycle with another accused, Guddu Muslim, as pillion. Investigators further allege that Armaan brought Guddu Muslim to the spot and both opened fire during the attack. Guddu Muslim also carries a ₹5 lakh reward in the case.
Police have also alleged that Armaan was associated with slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed as a sharpshooter. The allegations are part of the ongoing investigation and remain subject to judicial scrutiny.