Samajwadi Party MLA Pooja Pal, whose husband Raju Pal was shot dead by gangster Atiq Ahmed in 2005, on Thursday thanked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for delivering justice and “listening to her when no one else did”, and praised him for bringing in policies with zero tolerance against criminals.
Atiq and his brother Ashraf were shot dead by three men posing as media persons in 2023. Mr Adityanath had ordered a high-level probe into the killings even as the opposition accused the state government of failing to ensure the rule of law.
Speaking in the Uttar Pradesh assembly during a 24-hour marathon discussion on ‘Vision Document 2047’, Ms Pooja said: “Everyone knows who murdered my husband (Raju). I want to thank the Chief Minister for bringing me justice and hearing me when nobody else did.”
She added: “The Chief Minister gave justice to many other women like me in Prayagraj by bringing in policies like zero tolerance that led to the killing of criminals like Atiq Ahmed. Today, the entire state looks at him with trust.”
Former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal was shot dead on January 25, 2005, days after he married Ms Pooja. The murder, police said, was a result of political rivalry with gangster Atiq Ahmed’s brother Ashraf, whom Raju had defeated in the 2004 bypoll to the Prayagraj West seat. In February 2023, Umesh Pal, a key witness in the murder case, was shot dead in Prayagraj’s Sulem Saray area.
Days later, Atiq and Ashraf – both of whom were arrested – were shot dead by three men when they were being taken for a medical check-up in Prayagraj. Atiq was shot in the head from behind, nearly at point-blank range. Ashraf, too, was shot dead, as the murder was captured on camera. This came days after Atiq’s son Asad was killed in an alleged encounter in Jhansi. All three men were later arrested.
“Mere pati ke hatyare Atiq Ahmed ko mukhya mantri ne mitti mein milaane ka kaam kiya (The Chief Minister buried my husband’s murderer Atiq Ahmed),” Ms Pooja told the House.
“I raised my voice when I saw that no one wanted to fight against criminals like Atiq Ahmed. When I started feeling exhausted with this fight, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave me justice,” she added.
Raju had lost the election from the Prayagraj West seat to Atiq in 2002 but when the latter vacated it after being elected to the Lok Sabha, Raju defeated Ashraf in the bypoll.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the probe into the murder case in 2016. In 2024, a CBI court convicted seven people – Ranjeet Pal, Abid, Farhan Ahmad, Israr Ahmad, Javed, Gulhasan, and Abdul Kavi – guilty in the case for criminal conspiracy and murder among other charges. Farhan was also held guilty under the Indian Arms Act.
Meanwhile, a judicial commission formed to probe the gangsters’ murders ruled out the possibility of a “pre-planned conspiracy” or “police negligence”. The state government also informed the Supreme Court that it is “leaving no stone unturned to ensure a fair and impartial investigation” into the killings.
