The murder of lawyer Umesh Pal in Prayagraj on February 24 has left behind a bloody trail of killings, but the case ultimately may not have any convicts -- the simple reason being that six main accused have been killed.
Ever since Umesh Pal's murder, a total of six of the eight accused have been killed in connection with the case.
Arbaaz, who was reportedly the driver of the killers' vehicle on February 24, was killed in an encounter on February 27 in Prayagraj.
Usman a.k.a. Vijay Chaudhary was killed on March 6 in another alleged encounter in Prayagraj.
Asad, son of Atiq Ahmad, and shooter Ghulam were killed in an encounter by police in Jhansi on April 13.
Asad and Ghulam were caught on camera firing shots at Umesh Pal.
The masterminds of the Umesh Pal murder, Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf Ahmad, were shot dead at point-blank range by three men on Saturday night in Prayagraj.
Atiq Ahmad, a former Samajwadi Party MP, and his brother were brought to Prayagraj from Gujarat's Sabarmati jail for a court hearing in connection with Umesh Pal's murder case and were in police custody at the time of their killing.
The owner of Creta used in the crime, identified as Rukhsar Ahmed, was earlier nabbed from Bahraich district in Uttar Pradesh.
Rukhsar Ahmed's name was registered in the documents of Creta and sources said he was the operator of a travel agency in Kareli, Prayagraj.
After the incident, Rukhsar had absconded with the family.
Nafees Ahmed, the owner of a Biryani eatery, had transferred the car to Rukhsar Ahmed, a resident of Kareli. Car owner Rukhsar Ahmed is said to be a close relative of Nafees Ahmed.
The remaining two other accused, Guddu Muslim and Sabir, are currently on the run and each carries a reward of Rs 5 lakh.
Shaista Parveen, wife of Atiq Ahmad, is also absconding. She carries a reward of Rs 50,000 on her head. She is named as a conspirator in the case.
According to STF sources, they have been tracking Guddu Muslim and Sabir for some time now and the two could be arrested soon.
It may be recalled that on the basis of the complaint lodged by Umesh Pal's wife Jaya Pal, a case was registered at Dhoomanganj police station against Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Ghulam and nine others.
They have been booked under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Explosive Substances Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act.
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