'Yogi buried my husband’s murderer': SP MLA Pooja Pal thanks UP CM for eliminating Atiq Ahmed

Speaking during the 24-hour marathon discussion in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, Pooja Pal credited the chief minister for the action against Atiq Ahmed.

Samajwadi Party MLA Pooja Pal on Thursday lauded Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath for his “zero-tolerance policy” against mafias, crediting him for “providing justice” in the murder of her husband, former BSP MLA Raju Pal, who was killed by gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed.

Speaking in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Pooja Pal expressed her gratitude to the chief minister for addressing a pain that, she said, “no one bothered to see for years.”

Raju Pal, then a Bahujan Samaj Party MLA, was shot dead in January 2005, just nine days after marrying Pooja Pal. He had defeated Ahmed’s brother, Ashraf Ahmed, in a by-election in Allahabad West constituency. Ahmed and Ashraf were later convicted in a separate case and were killed in April 2023 while in police custody.

“I wish to draw your attention to my situation. I have lost my husband, who was a Member of this House. This fact is no secret; everyone in this House knows how he was murdered and by whom. I want to express my gratitude to the Chief Minister, who saw my pain that no one bothered to see for years. The Chief Minister saw my grief and suffering and, in the truest sense, worked to ensure that I received justice,” she said.

On the night of April 15, 2023, Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were brought to the hospital, also known as Colvin Hospital in Prayagraj, for a routine medical examination.

Around 10:36pm, while speaking to the media under police escort, three assailants posing as journalists opened fire from point-blank range.

A five-time MLA and former Lok Sabha MP from the Samajwadi Party, Atiq Ahmed had over 100 criminal cases against him, including murder, kidnapping, and extortion, over a career spanning four decades.