The son of dreaded gangster Atiq Ahmed was among the two men shot dead by the Uttar Pradesh Police in an encounter in Jhansi today.
Asad Ahmed and Ghulam were wanted in connection with the murder of Umesh Pal, who was shot dead outside his Prayagraj house on February 24. Both had a bounty of ₹ 5 lakh on their heads.

According to the police, they opened fire on a team of Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force and were killed in retaliatory action. Police said sophisticated weapons, new cell phones and SIM cards were recovered from them.

Lawyer Umesh Pal was a witness in the 2005 murder case of Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal. On February 24, he was shot dead in a broad daylight attack outside his home in Prayagraj. The security forces guarding him were also killed. The shocking scenes of the attack raised big questions about the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh.

Umesh Pal’s murder also brought back the spotlight on gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, who has more than 100 cases against him. A former Samajwadi Party MP, he was convicted in a kidnapping case last month. The case related to the 2006 kidnapping of Umesh Paul — 17 years before he was murdered.

The encounter killings of Atiq Ahmed’s son and his accomplice come in the wake of repeated allegations by goons that the Uttar Pradesh police planned to shoot him dead in a staged encounter.

In fact, the gang told reporters yesterday that it was safe because of the media. “I am safe because of you (the media),” he told reporters as he was brought to Prayagraj for a court date.

The gangsters were transferred to a jail in Gujarat on the directions of the Supreme Court after they were accused of kidnapping a real estate tycoon while in jail. He is in Sabarmati Central Jail since June 2019.

Over the past two months, Atiq Ahmed has been brought to Uttar Pradesh several times for court hearings. The high-profile nature of the case and the goons’ fear of a staged encounter have ensured extensive media coverage of the movements.