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UMESH PAL MURDER: Law student held from Gkp for planning attack, accused reveals ‘Atiq’s son hatched conspiracy’
During police interrogation, Khan has revealed that the conspiracy to kill Umesh Pal was hatched by one of the sons of former Phulpur MP Atiq Ahmed.
PRAYAGRAJ The Special Task Force (STF) of U.P. Police has arrested a 27-year-old law student, identified as Sadaqat Khan, from Gorakhpur in connection with the murder case of Umesh Pal. Khan has been held for his alleged role in planning the fatal attack on Pal, who was the prime witness to the 2005 BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case. The sensational daylight murder -- which took place in Prayagraj on Friday -- also claimed the life of constable Sandeep Nishad, who was deployed in Pal’s security.
Khan’s arrest was made on Monday, the same day when local police eliminated Arbaaz, one of the main suspects in the murder of Pal, in an encounter. According to police, Khan, a native of Ghazipur’s Bara village, used to live illegally at the Muslim Boarding House, a trust-run hostel for Allahabad University’s (AU) Muslim students.
“Khan was held by the STF team on Monday afternoon from Gorakhpur. He tried to escape but tripped on a road divider in the process. He has been admitted to the SRN hospital for treatment,” said Prayagraj police commissioner Ramit Sharma. He added that cash rewards have been announced on all the accused involved in the killings.
Meanwhile, during police interrogation, Khan has revealed that the conspiracy to kill Umesh Pal was hatched by one of the sons of former Phulpur MP Atiq Ahmed, said a senior police officer aware of the development. Khan further disclosed that a few other accused involved in the case also stayed at the Muslim Boarding House for some time, added the cop.
Khan was close to Gulam, a named accused in the murder case of Umesh Pal. The arrested accused is told to be a frequent visitor to Gulam’s room in the Muslim Boarding House. “The assault on Pal was planned in the very boarding house. Atiq’s son also visited Khan’s room,” said the police officer.
Following the murder of Pal, Khan allegedly escaped to Gorakhpur. However, he was arrested by the STF there. An inspection of his mobile phone has revealed that Khan used to make WhatsApp calls to Atiq’s son. Police have also found out that Khan, who got himself registered as a lawyer with the Allahabad High Court, had links with people involved in illegal real estate business and other criminal activities.
“Gulam and the other accused lured Sadaqat into their gang on the pretext of giving him many cases of land-related disputes in the future through which he could earn hefty cash,” said ADG STF Amitabh Yash. The scanning of Gulam’s call records has revealed that he was also in contact with lawyer Sadaqat Khan. As many as 11 other suspects are being questioned in connection with the case, said police officials.
Earlier, based on the complaint of Umesh’s wife Jaya, an FIR was lodged against 27 people -- including mafioso-turned-politician and former MP Atiq Ahmad, his wife Shaista Parveen, their sons, Atiq’s younger brother Khalid Azeem (aka Ashraf), one Guddu Muslim, Gulam, and other unidentified shooters at the Dhumanganj police station.
The accused have been booked under IPC sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) and under the provisions of the Explosive Substances Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act, said police.
