Charge sheet filed in Umesh Pal murder case, Atiq Ahmed’s brother-in-law, lawyer among 8 named

Police in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Saturday filed their charge sheet against eight accused in the Umesh Pal murder case. The charge sheet was filed by Dhoomanganj ACP Mahendra Singh Deo in a court in Prayagraj, government counsel Gulab Chandra Agrahari said.

The charge sheet mentions Ahmed, Rakesh alias Nakesh alias Lala, Arshad Katra, Niyaz Ahmed, Iqbal Ahmed, Shahrukh, Akhlaq Ahmed, and Khan Shoulat Haneef as accused, he said. Khan Shoulat Haneef is currently in judicial custody in Naini Central Jail.

Agrahari said the case against the eight men was filed at the complaint of Umesh Pal's wife Jaya Pal. All eight have been booked under various sections of the IPC, Explosive Substances Act, and sections of SC/ST Act at Dhoomanganj Police Station.

Gangster Politician Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, wife Shaista Parveen, and other family members were made the prime accused in the case. According to the counsel, the first charge sheet in the matter was filed in the court on May 26 with Sadaqat Khan as the main accused. He said that the matter will be heard next on June 21.

Umesh Pal and two policemen deployed in his security were shot dead on February 24 this year. Pal was the main witness in the BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case. Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, the main accused named in the case, were shot dead by three youths on April 15, 2023, outside a hospital while they were being taken for a medical check by police.

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