'Fake encounter': Akhilesh on Atiq Ahmed's son Asad's killing

Asad was the ‘most wanted’ man in Uttar Pradesh after leading a group of shooters who killed Umesh Pal in broad daylight on a busy street in Prayagraj on February 24. The police had put a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on his head, making him the highest reward earner in his family's history.

Jhansi (UP):Son of mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed Asad, who was wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case, was killed in an encounter by the UPSTF team led by DySP Navendu and DySP Vimal in Jhansi, as confirmed by Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force. The officials further informed that another one of his accomplices, Ghulam S/o Maksudan, was also killed along with Asad.

Both the deceased were wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case and were carrying a reward of Rs five lakhs each. The police also recovered sophisticated foreign-made weapons from the deceased, the officials informed. Asad was the ‘most wanted’ man in Uttar Pradesh after leading a group of shooters who killed Umesh Pal in broad daylight on a busy street in Prayagraj on February 24. The police had put a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on his head, making him the highest reward earner in his family's history.

Reacting to the killings, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed it was a 'fake encounter'. "By doing false encounters, the BJP government is trying to divert attention from the real issues. The BJP does not believe in the court at all. Today's and recent encounters should also be thoroughly investigated and the culprits should not be spared. The power does not have the right to decide what is right or wrong. BJP is against brotherhood," read a rough translation of his tweet in Hindi.

Multiple police teams had been searching for Asad since he went into hiding after the murder. Two other shooters had been eliminated in encounters, with the most recent being a man named Usman. Asad was the third son of Atiq Ahmed, who is currently lodged in Sabarmati jail in Gujarat, while his uncle Ashraf is in UP's Bareilly jail. In their absence, Atiq's two elder sons, Umar and Ali, ran the gang. Asad took the reins of the gang last August after his two elder brothers surrendered in court.

Sources in the UP Police revealed that Asad used to operate from Lucknow, where he had passed Class 12 from a top school. However, he could not go abroad for further studies due to his family's criminal history. He was not on the police radar until he was captured on CCTV shooting at Umesh Pal.

According to police, Asad was in contact with Atiq and Ashraf in jail, and they had given him instructions to plan the murder of Umesh Pal. The Ahmed family had a long-standing rivalry with Umesh Pal. Asad had rallied other shooters and was seen in the CCTV images emerging from an SUV and shooting at Umesh Pal with a pistol.

Asad's death marks a significant victory for the Uttar Pradesh police, who had been under pressure to solve the high-profile case. The police had faced criticism from the public and the media for not being able to apprehend the killers despite having CCTV footage of the crime. With Asad's elimination, the police have sent a clear message that they will not tolerate gang violence and will take swift action to bring criminals to justice.

However, the encounter has also raised concerns about the use of extrajudicial killings by the police. The National Human Rights Commission has taken cognizance of the matter and is investigating whether the encounter was staged or genuine. The Commission has asked the UP Police to submit a detailed report on the incident.