Umesh Pal, two other policemen were also killed.

Lucknow . About 3 weeks after the Umesh Pal murder in Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh, the Special Task Force (STF) of the UP Police has told that the don and former MP Atiq Ahmed, lodged in Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Jail, had conspired to kill Umesh Pal. And if his son had not made a mistake at the last minute, perhaps this conspiracy would have been a bit difficult to expose. Umesh Pal was the main witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal. According to the highly placed sources of the police who are now cooperating in the investigation of his murder case, Atiq had asked his son to kill Umesh Pal. Ateeq had asked his son to be present at the scene and monitor the murder incident from inside the SUV, but Ateeq’s son did not listen and the names of Ateeq and his son came to the fore in the assassination. In this, along with Umesh Pal, two other policemen were also killed.

Police sources have told that on February 24, Umesh Pal was shot dead by armed assailants in Dhomanganj area of Prayagraj. Umesh Pal was the complainant in the kidnapping of Atiq and his brother former MLA Ashraf. Apart from this, Umesh was also an eyewitness against Atiq and Ashraf in the Raju Pal murder case. Questions were being raised on law and order in Uttar Pradesh due to the sensational murder of Umesh Pal, while the police had obtained several CCTV camera footage installed on the spot. In this footage, attention was drawn to SUVs and bike riders. At that time, people carrying weapons in several vehicles were seen firing at Umesh Pal and the policemen deployed for his security. In fact, Atiq’s third son Asad Ahmed was also among those who fired. Who was firing from inside the SUV. This footage was repeatedly viewed from different angles and it was confirmed that Atiq’s son Asad was among those who opened fire. This proved that this murder was done by Atiq gang only. Other attackers were also identified and Guddu Muslim was also involved in this, who has been close to Atiq for the last 3 decades.

The incident took place to dominate the gang
After the killings, however, an FIR was immediately lodged against Atiq and his jailed brother Ashraf, alleging criminal conspiracy. However, there were questions whether it was actually Atiq’s conspiracy or whether his son Asad had committed this murder to establish his gang. Police sources said that initially there was a possibility that this incident could also happen due to leadership change within the Atik gang. The biggest thing was that Atiq’s son Asad was involved in the murder and he is trying to establish the dominance of his father’s gang. In the beginning there was less apprehension about Atiq because he was lodged in Sabarmati Jail away from Uttar Pradesh. It was also speculated that Atiq would not be able to carry out such sensational murders as the UP government was constantly pursuing cases against him.
Atiq used FaceTime to connect with gang members
The senior police officer said that the police now have strong evidence that the entire conspiracy was hatched by Atiq. Although the official process of taking Atiq on remand by the UP STF is still going on, but the jailed don has been interrogated off-the-record. It is said that a team of UP Police has already met Atiq in Sabarmati Jail, while his brother Ashraf, who is lodged in UP’s Bareilly Jail, has also been questioned. According to top police sources, Atiq has enough evidence of having a smartphone inside the jail. The investigation so far has also revealed that Atiq and other gang members used mobile apps like Facetime to stay connected. It was Atiq who took the decision regarding the assassination plot and the presence of Asad in the SUV. Although Asad was told to sit inside the SUV and monitor the incident. Asad is currently absconding and a reward of Rs 2.5 lakh has been placed on him.

Sadaqat Khan opened the secret, told how he got away from the murder case
The UP Police has not given any official details of the interrogation of Sadaqat Khan, one of the arrested accused, but sources say that Sadaqat Khan himself had made elaborate arrangements to stay away from the murder case and prove it. The police officer told that Sadaqat Khan has revealed many secrets. He has told the police about the Umesh Pal murder case that he knew about the conspiracy to kill Umesh Pal. A day before the murder, he was also with other shooters and followed Umesh to do the necessary reconnaissance. But he had fled from Prayagraj on the day of the murder. According to police sources, Sadaqat gathered all the evidence, which could help him to save himself. He kept his mobile location on and was in Varanasi on the morning of 24 February. He bought a train ticket from Varanasi and boarded the train. During his journey of next 5 hours, he deliberately got out of the train at almost all the stations and made sure that the CCTV cameras installed on the platforms captured his picture.

What was the motive of the murder?
Why was Umesh not killed earlier? The investigators were troubled because of this question. Umesh was active because of Atiq in the kidnapping case and his brother Ashraf and eyewitness in Raju Pal murder case, then why was he not killed? In both these cases, Atiq had given his statements in the court. Now sources say that there could be many reasons behind Umesh Pal murder. One