Umesh Pal murder: Police quiz ‘girlfriends’ of two assailants to get clues

Two of the assailants Gulam Hasan and Guddu Muslim were in touch with two women believed to be their girlfriends, said police

In a bid to get clues about still-at-large assailants involved in the February 24 murder of lawyer Umesh Pal and his two police guards, the district police are now questioning two women believed to be the girlfriends of two of the assailants Gulam Hasan and Guddu Muslim, police sources aware of the development said.

Most of the assailants involved in the murders of Umesh Pal and his two guards are still absconding. (For Representation)

The two women were in regular touch of the assailants before the crime was committed, they added. “Some other women have also been rounded up. Police suspected they had given shelter to the assailants,” said a senior police officer.

A few days back, police teams detained a woman of Naini area with whom one of the assailants Gulam was in regular contact. Through scanning of call details of Gulam’s mobile number, the police learnt about the woman. She used to talk to Gulam for long hours and is believed to be his girlfriend.

Before detaining her, the police put her phone on surveillance for several days hoping that Gulam may contact her again. However, police rounded up the woman as she received no suspicious calls.

During questioning, the woman confessed to have been in contact with Gulam before February 24. However, the woman claimed that she had no clues about Gulam after the incident. Gulam’s phone went switched off and he made no attempts to contact her through any other mobile number, she further claimed.

The woman informed the police that during his conversation with her, Gulam had hinted at something big going to happen but did not disclose more details. The woman was being questioned further as she may give a clue about Gulam’s possible hideouts, said a senior police officer aware of the developments.

The police have also questioned a woman of Shahganj area who was in contact with Guddu Muslim, the assailant seen throwing crude bombs in the CCTV footage of the broad daylight crime. Guddu used to talk to the woman over phone and the police learnt about her through Guddu’s call detail records.

Meanwhile, two women of Kareli area have also been rounded up. Officials said it was suspected that they had provided shelter to some of the assailants in the night on February 24 before they left the city.