'My Husband Can Be Killed': Atiq Ahmed's Wife Writes To Yogi Adityanath After Umesh Pal's Murder

Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed's wife Shaista Parveen wrote to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday, demanding a CBI probe into the killing of Umesh Pal, a prime witness in the 2005 murder of then BSP MLA Raju Pal. She and her family members are accused in killing of the witness. Umesh Pal and his police security guard Sandeep Nishad were shot dead last Friday outside his home in the Dhoomanganj area of Prayagraj. Another constable was injured in this attack. Atiq Ahmed is the prime accused in the BSP MLA Raju Pal's murder case and is currently lodged in a Gujarat jail.

In the letter addressed to the chief minister, Shaista Parveen said, "Friday's incident is extremely sad and condemnable. An FIR has been lodged by Umesh Pal's wife naming nine people including my husband Atiq Ahmed, my brother-in-law Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, me and my sons and nine unknown people."

"In this FIR, my husband, brother-in-law and sons have been accused of conspiracy, and based on CCTV footage, my son Ali has been named as the shooter. This allegation is completely baseless," she said in the letter.

"The truth is that ever since the BSP declared me as the mayoral candidate from Prayagraj, a local leader and a cabinet minister in your government have conspired against us to retain the post of mayor. As part of this conspiracy, a person was killed, the allegation for which was natural to fall on my husband."

She further claimed, "Umesh Pal was not a witness in the Raju Pal murder case, but he was a litigant in the kidnapping case registered at Dhoomanganj police station, in which his testimony has already been recorded in the court on August 16 and 17, 2016."

"Since the Prayagraj police is working under the pressure of your minister, under a conspiracy on the pretext of remand, my husband and brother-in-law can be called from jail and killed on the way," Praveen feared.

Parveen has demanded in the letter that the case lodged regarding the murder of Umesh Pal should be investigated by CBI. A copy of the letter has also been shared on various social media platforms.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh police on Monday said it has gunned down an accused in the February 24 killing of the prime witness Umesh Pal. Police claimed that they retaliated when the accused opened fire at them.