Atiq Ahmed life imprisonment: What is 2006 Umesh Pal kidnapping case?

Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed was convicted in the 2006 Umesh Pal kidnapping case by an MP-MLA court today and was sentenced to life imprisonment after travelling from Ahmedabad to Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh in an armored convoy.

Ahmad's brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf and six others have been acquitted in the case. Special MP-MLA court judge Dinesh Chandra Shukla held Ahmad, Saulat Hanif, a lawyer, and Dinesh Pasi guilty in the case, government counsel Gulab Chandra Agrahari said.

The three were pronounced guilty under Indian Penal Code section 364-A (kidnapping or abduction in order to murder), Agrahari said. This comes as a strict investigation has been launched in relation to the Umesh Pal murder case, in which Atiq Ahmed’s son is the prime accused.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had last month charged the Samajwadi Party with garlanding mafias like Atiq Ahmad and had said in the state assembly that "mafia (Atiq Ahmad) ko mitti me mila denge (will destroy the mafia)."

What is the 2006 Umesh Pal murder case?

Umesh Pal was the prime witness of the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, who was killed on January 25, 2005. Umesh Pal was a zila panchayat member and had approached the police about how he had witnessed the murder.

After Umesh Pal approached the police in relation to the Raju Pal murder case, an FIR was filed against Atiq Ahmed, his brother, and several other accused. The police had submitted a chargesheet in the matter against 11 people. One of them later died.

Before the FIR was filed in the case, Umesh Pal had said that when he refused to retract his statement, Atiq Ahmed and his gang members kidnapped him at gunpoint on February 26, 2006. He was allegedly beaten up and electrocuted while he was kidnapped.

Atiq Ahmed allegedly took Umesh Pal from a Land Cruiser near Phansi Imli in the Dhumanganj police station area. Pal was made to write a statement that he didn’t witness the murder of Raju Pal. Umesh Pal filed a case against Atiq Ahmed when the BSP government was formed months later.

(With inputs from agencies)

READ | Explained: Who is Atiq Ahmed? Know connection to Umesh Pal murder case, why he is being shifted to UP's Prayagraj jail