A Prayagraj court found gangster Atiq Ahmed and two others guilty in the kidnapping of Umesh Pal in 2006, and they were given life sentences.
In the case, seven additional people—including Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, the brother of Atiq Ahmed—were found not guilty.
After a 24-hour road trip, the Uttar Pradesh police brought Ahmed, a former MP and MLA who is charged with at least 100 offences, including murder and kidnapping, to Prayagraj.
While crowds gathered on both sides of the road, visuals from outside the court today showed a lengthy police cavalcade transporting the gangster-turned-politician in large vans.
Ahmed was found guilty a month after Umesh Pal, a crucial witness in the 2005 murder case of Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal, was sensationally murdered.
On February 24 of this year, Umesh Pal was shot and killed in Prayagraj as he exited a Hyundai Creta SUV. He was accompanied by two police bodyguards, who were also slain in the gunfight.
According to the UP police, Atiq Ahmed killed Umesh Pal because the latter had identified him as the main suspect in the 2005 murder. Umesh Pal claimed in 2006 that he was abducted at gunpoint after refusing to change his statement to the police.
The court verdict in the kidnapping case from 2006 was delivered today in Prayagraj.
After being pressed hard about the brazen murder of Umesh Pal, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath slammed opposition leader Akhilesh Yadav in the state assembly the day after the Prayagraj shooting. He even brought up his feud with his father.
Also Read: Atiq Ahmed, Brother Ashraf, Eight Others Convicted In Umesh Pal Kidnapping Case
