MC Explains | The assassination of Umesh Pal, prime witness in an MLA's murder

Umesh Pal, a prime witness in in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal was shot dead at his residence in Prayagraj. (Picture Credit: ANI)

The killing of Umesh Pal, a prime witness in the 2005 murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal in Prayagraj, has triggered a political uproar as opposition parties have alleged that such incidents indicate the deteriorating law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh (UP).

Umesh Pal, a 43-year-old lawyer, was shot dead at his residence in Prayagraj’s Sulem Sarai area in the evening of February 24. Police said the assailants fired several rounds and attacked him with crude bombs. Pal’s two bodyguards were also injured in the attack and one of them, identified as Sandeep Nishad, succumbed to bullet injuries.

However, the six heavily-armed assailants escaped unchallenged. CCTV footage of the incident has gone viral, and the UP police has formed eight teams to investigate the matter.

The autopsy report suggests that Umesh Pal was shot seven times and had 13 injuries on his body.

The murder of Raju Pal, MLA

Raju Pal was a BSP leader. He won the by-poll for the Allahabad (West) state assembly seat in November 2004 by defeating now incarcerated leader Atique Ahmed’s younger brother Khalid Azim.

Soon after winning the seat, Pal was murdered in January 2005 en route to his village for the Republic Day parade.

Pal had first fought against Atique Ahmed in the 2002 assembly elections. Ahmed won the elections, but resigned in 2004 on being elected to the Lok Sabha.

In the ensuing by-poll for Ahmed’s erstwhile seat, Raju Pal emerged victorious and denied Ahmed a chance to retain the seat within the family.

Following Raju Pal’s murder, Azim won the seat defeating Raju Pal's wife Puja Pal.  The CBI has already framed charges against Azim, who is the prime accused in the murder. Ahmed has also been charged with complicity in the murder.

Politician, criminal

Ahmed is currently lodged at Sabarmati jail in Gujarat, with reportedly 100 criminal cases pending against him for extortion, gun running, murder, loot, abduction, and intimidation.

The 60-year-old gangster has been elected to the legislative assembly from the Allahabad (West) seat for five consecutive terms, from 1989 to 2002. In the 2004 general elections, Ahmed won from the Phulpur parliamentary constituency and became an MP.

While lodged in jail as an accused for the murder of Raju Pal, he contested the 2009 general elections from Pratapgarh on an Apna Dal ticket, as the Samajwadi Party had expelled him in 2008, and BSP supremo Mayawati also refused him a ticket. He lost the elections.

For the 2012 UP assembly elections, Ahmed was again released on bail. He filed his nomination for the Allahabad (West) seat on an Apna Dal ticket. However, this time Raju Pal's widow, Puja Pal, won the seat.

Umesh Pal, prime witness

In a police complaint, Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya Pal has said that her husband was the prime witness in the Raju Pal murder case. She has alleged that Umesh Pal was abducted by Ahmed and his men in 2006 and 2016, who pressurised him to turn hostile. A hostile witness is a witness who changes his testimony in court.

Reports suggest that Umesh Pal had lodged a case against Ahmed and his men. On February 24, Umesh Pal and his two bodyguards, Sandeep Nishad and Raghvendra Singh, were on their back from the local court where the matter  had come up for hearing.

As Umesh and his bodyguards stepped out of the car near his house, a group of assailants indiscriminately fired on them.

Political spat over Umesh Pal’s murder

On February 25, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had a heated argument over Umesh Pal’s murder in the state assembly.

Yadav targeted the ruling BJP government in the state over the deteriorating law and order situation. He questioned Adityanath about his policy of zero-tolerance of crime.

In response, Adityanath said the government had already taken cognisance of the matter. He also questioned, “Who has bred these criminals and mafia? Isn’t it true the mafia don against whom the FIR is lodged was made an MP by the Samajwadi Party?”

He accused Akhilesh of politicising the matter and said the government will crush the mafia in the state.