Prayagraj (UP): Police on Friday filed a charge sheet against Sadakat Khan, an accused in the killing of Umesh Pal and his two security guards, officials said here. Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, and his two guards were shot dead outside his home in Prayagraj's Dhoomanganj area on February 24 this year.
Government counsel Gulab Chandra Agrahari said that on the complaint of Umesh Pal's wife Jaya Pal, police had registered a case under multiple IPC sections, including 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 506 (criminal intimidation), as well as the Explosives Act. The case was filed against gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad, his brother Ashraf, his wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Ghulam, and nine others, Agrahari said.
During the probe into the case, Jaya Pal had told the investigating officer that she belonged to the Scheduled Caste, following which provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were also added. The name of Sadakat Khan, an LLB student and a resident of Ghazipur, cropped up in the case following which he was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force.
In a statement issued here, police said that Sadakat Khan's judicial custody was ending on May 27 and the charge sheet was filed on Friday. Of the seven people seen in the CCTV footage that captured the killing of Umesh Pal, Arbaaz, who allegedly drove a sports utility vehicle (SUV) carrying the attackers, was killed in an encounter on February 27.
Atiq Ahmad (60) and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists in the middle of a media interaction on the night of April 15 while police personnel were escorting them to a medical college in Prayagraj for a checkup. Shooter Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman was killed in an encounter in Prayagraj on March 6. Ahmad's son Asad and another accused Ghulam were killed in another encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force in Jhansi on April 13. Atiq's wife Shaista Parveen and Guddu Muslim are currently absconding. (PTI)
