Asad Ahmed planned to attack father's convoy to stop transfer
Asad Ahmed and Ghulam Maksudan, the accused in the Umesh Pal murder case who were gunned down by the Uttar Pradesh Police in Jhansi on Thursday, planned to attack the police convoy transporting Asad's father, gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed. However, reports say the attack was not intended to free Atiq but rather to highlight a security lapse in order to embarrass the UP government.
Why does this story matter?
Atiq and Maksudan were both wanted for Umesh's murder on February 24 of this year. For the uninitiated, Umesh was the primary witness in the 2005 murder case of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal. While the BJP-led UP government claims to run a campaign against the "mafia," it has been accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings for political vendetta.
Asad wanted to stop Atiq's transfer from Gujarat to UP
According to reports, Asad aimed to attack the convoy to stop his father's transfer from Gujarat's Sabarmati jail to UP. Reports also add that after Umesh's murder, Atiq found it difficult to protect his son and sought assistance from his acquaintances. Notably, Asad had a meeting with his uncle Ashraf on February 11, the day his father was sentenced for Umesh's kidnapping.
Asad met Ashraf in jail to plan Umesh's murder
During the meeting in Bareilly jail, they planned to kill Umesh, and he was killed 13 days later. Eight of Asad Ahmed's associates were present at the meeting, per reports. According to police sources, the meeting was set up in collusion with prison officials, and there were no CCTV cameras present. After the murder, Asad hopped places to evade arrest.
UP Police killed Umesh murder accused in encounter
Three days after Umesh's murder, the UP Police shot dead Arbaaz, a key accused in his murder, in an encounter. On March 6, the UP Police shot dead another accused in the case, Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman. Following the incident, a CCTV video surfaced showing multiple people shooting at Umesh. Asad was named an accused based on the video.
Atiq kidnapped Umesh in 2006 to force a police statement
Atiq and his brother Ashraf, a former MLA from Allahabad West, were accused of murdering MLA Raju in 2005. In 2006, Ahmed reportedly kidnapped witness Umesh and forced him to make a statement in his favor. Umesh then filed a case against him.
How it all started
The Allahabad West seat was left vacant after Atiq, then a Samajwadi Party member, became an MP in 2004. Raju contested the 2004 UP Assembly elections on a BSP ticket and won the seat, defeating Ashraf. Raju was then chased and gunned down in broad daylight to avenge the electoral defeat. He was said to be Ahmed's aide at one point.
