Umesh Pal Murder Case: Gangster Atiq Ahmed, who is also an accused in the Umesh Pal kidnapping case, is being brought to Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh amid tight security. Ahead of his arrival, the security at the Naini Central jail has been beefed up. Atiq was lodged in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail since 2019 and on Sunday, Prayagraj police reached Sabarmati jail to bring him back.
After his medical tests and formalities, the police took him and now bringing him back to his home state via road. The convoy is travelling via Chitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh and will reach Prayagraj via Jhansi in UP. Atiq will be produced before a court on March 28 when the verdict in the kidnapping case will be pronounced.
He is being escorted to the high-security Prayagraj Jail by a team of 45 police personnel, which includes an encounter specialist. The journey is likely to take around 36 hours. Atiq Ahmed will be kept in isolation in a high-security barrack at the jail. His cell will have a CCTV camera. Jail staffers will be chosen and deployed on the basis of their records, they will have body cameras. Prayagraj Jail office and headquarters will monitor Ahmed round the clock.
Meanwhile, a team of Prayagraj police has left Bareilly with Atiq’s brother Ashraf who is also an accused in the Umesh Pal kidnapping case. A panel of three advocates Adv Raj Sharma, Adv Ashish Srivastav and Adv Himanshu earlier reached Bareilly jail to complete the formalities. Ashraf will be produced before a court on Monday.
Talking to ABP News, Ashraf said that there's a threat to his life.
The team of Prayagraj Police, taking mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed to UP, briefly halted in Shivpuri earlier Monday morning.
ABP News has been tracking the convoy of the criminal since he left Gujarat.
Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed was arrested in the Umesh Pal murder case. On Sunday, he said that the transfer to Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj was only an excuse to murder him.
While stepping out of the Sabarmati Central jail in Ahmedabad Ahmed said: "They are plotting my murder. The court proceedings are just an excuse to kill me." Ahmed had earlier sought permission to appear for the hearing in the case via video conferencing.
The Special Task Force of the UP Police has planned two routes of nearly 1,300 to take Ahmed out of Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh.
Umesh Pal, a key witness in the famous Raju Pal murder case, was shot dead by several shooters in broad daylight in the Sulem Sarai area of Prayagraj on February 24. The entire family of Atiq Ahmed, including his two sons and wife, have been named as accused in the case.
Following the incident, the Prayagraj police killed two shooters in encounters. So far, no arrest has been made in the case while police are trying to locate all the accused. UP Police earlier last week sent around 9 cops out of Prayagraj as they were in touch with the Atiq Ahmed gang in some way or another.
Atiq Ahmed’s wife and son, and other accused in the case are on the run since the police launched a massive manhunt to catch them.