UP: Another Umesh Pal murder accused killed in Prayagraj encounter
Another accused in the Umesh Pal murder case was killed in an encounter by a Prayagraj Police team in Uttar Pradesh on Monday morning. The encounter reportedly occurred under Prayagraj's Kaundhiyara Police Station area in the trans-Yamuna region, according to officials. The accused, identified as Vijay Chaudhary, aka Usman alias Naan Babu, was a resident of the Amokhar village in Kaundhiyara.
Why does this story matter?
The major development comes just 10 days after Pal, the prime witness in the 2005 murder case of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal, was shot dead just outside his residence in Prayagraj in broad daylight. According to reports, Pal was attacked as soon as he stepped out of his vehicle in front of his home. The murder triggered a massive statewide row.
Accused Chaudhary was rushed to hospital, too
Prayagraj's SRN Police outpost in-charge Sanjay Gupta said Chaudhary was rushed to the Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. "Patient Usman was brought dead. We performed the examinations following which he was declared dead and the body was sent to the mortuary. He was shot," the hospital's emergency medical officer Dr. Badri Vishal Singh was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
Hunt for other shooters in Pal's murder continues
According to the police, 27-year-old Chaudhary was one of the six shooters captured on CCTV firing bullets at Pal on February 24. Monday's encounter is the first against any actual shooters involved in the killing. In a previous encounter, on February 27, the driver of the SUV used by the accused was killed, while another individual was arrested over conspiracy charges.
Reaction to Chaudhary's encounter
Reacting to Chaudhary's encounter, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Shalabh Mani Tripathi said, "Didn't we say that we will destroy them (mafia nexus)!! Usman, the dreaded killer who fired the first shot at Umesh Pal and Sandeep Nishad, was also killed in a police encounter today." Gorakhpur MP-actor Ravi Kishan tweeted, "Pujya Maharaj [Yogi Adityanath] ji had said they (mafia nexus) will be destroyed."
Twitter post by BJP MP Kishan
Details on Umesh Pal's murder incident
On February 24, the prime witness in the BSP MLA murder case from 2005 was shot dead outside his residence in Prayagraj. After being shot, Pal was reportedly rushed to Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital with several serious injuries, where he succumbed during treatment. In the incident, two of Pal's bodyguards were also shot and later succumbed to their bullet wounds at the hospital.
Crude bombs used for attack: Prayagraj Police
Back on February 25, Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma revealed that crude bombs were used in the attack. As per reports, a smoke cloud suddenly rose at the shoot-out spot as the accused hurled crude bombs. This caused panic outside Pal's home as multiple people began to run away from the attack site, said Sharma.
Adityanath's reaction to Umesh Pal's murder
The incident also caught the eye of Yogi Adityanath, who said, "Mafiyaon ko mitti me mila denge (will turn the mafias into dust)" while speaking at the state Assembly session last week. "Government is working on the incident of Prayagraj on the basis of zero-tolerance policy. But the criminal who was involved in the incident, was he not nurtured by Samajwadi Party?," he added.
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