LUCKNOW: Around a fortnight ahead of the gruesome killing of lawyer Umesh Pal and his two police guards, the alleged assailants, including gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed's son Asad Ahmed and his accomplices, had met uncle Ashraf in Bareilly jail. A video of the meeting went viral on social media platforms on Monday.
In the over two-minute video, shot on February 11, 2023, nine persons, including Asad Ahmed, Mohd Ghulam, Guddu Muslim, Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman, Sadakat Khan and others are seen entering Bareilly jail together on a single ID with jail staff allowing them passage.
Sources said the entire contingent of Umesh Pal’s alleged killers remained with Ashraf on the jail premises for around three hours on February 11 to give the final touches to the conspiracy already hatched to eliminate Umesh Pal -- a key witness in the 2005 BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case.
Police sources claimed that ahead of meeting Ashraf inside the jail, the assailants had conducted several rounds of discussions through chats and group video calls to plan the shootout which took place on February 24.
“They found it significant to have one physical meeting with the planner Ashraf before executing the crime. After meeting with Ashraf and getting his green signal, the shooters conducted a recce of Pal’s daily routine,” said a highly-placed source who added that in case of the failure of first plan they had a backup plan ready to eliminate Umesh Pal.
Police sources also claimed that the shooters had made unsuccessful attempts to target Umesh Pal from February 21-23 also before succeeding finally on February 24.
Notably, after the investigation into the alleged meeting between Ashraf and his nephew who was accompanied by his accomplices, seven police personnel including Bareilly jail’s Jailor, Deputy Jailor and five warders were suspended for allowing illegal passage to the shooters to meet Ashraf.
One of the warders and an accomplice of Ashraf were arrested as well on March 13, 2023. Moreover, there was a recommendation for departmental action against Bareilly senior superintendent Rajiv Kumar Shukla, who was later suspended. The names of jailor Rajeev Mishra and Deputy Jailor Krishna Murari Gupta were also recommended for departmental action.