Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman, the man who fired the first shot at Umesh Pal, a key witness in the killing of former Bahujan Samaj Party legislator Raju Pal, was gunned down by the Special Operation Group (SOG) team in an encounter in Lalapur village early Monday morning.
Usman suffered bullet injuries in his neck, chest and thigh during the encounter. He was rushed to the SRN Hospital of Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, where doctors could not save him and he breathed his last.
A police constable, Narendra, was also injured in the exchange of fire. He has been admitted to the local community health centre, Additional Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar told reporters.
The encounter took place between Gothi and Belwa under Kaundhiyara police station area around 5:30 am, according to Dhoomanganj Station House Officer Rajesh Kumar Maurya.
Usman was seen firing the first bullet from his pistol aiming at Umesh Pal in the CCTV footage, and a reward of Rs 50,000 had been announced on him
The SOG had gathered information that Usman was in Lalapur on Sunday night, so the area was surrounded in the wee hours and the sharp shooter of Atiq gang was asked to surrender, but he opened fire at the police. When the police returned the fire, Usman tried to run away but was hit by bullets and collapsed on the ground.
A video of the killing of Umesh Pal in broad daylight had gone viral on social media and raised questions about law and order in Uttar Pradesh. Following the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath vowed in the state assembly that he would destroy the mafia in the state.
ADG Kumar said, “A shooter involved in the February 24 incident was injured in an encounter with police in Prayagraj. He was rushed for treatment to a hospital, where he died.”
Kumar said Usman carried a reward of Rs 50,000 for his arrest, adding that a .32 bore pistol and cartridges were recovered from him.
“His video was shown in the media. This is a big achievement. We have made it clear that strict action will be taken against those involved (in the killing) and those who hatched the conspiracy. Separate teams are working on the case,” the ADG said.
“I want to tell you that UP Police is committed to arrest all those involved in this murder case and present them in the court. We will collect evidence and prosecute all those involved in this,” he added.
On February 27, Arbaz, who allegedly drove the SUV of the killers of Umesh Pal, was killed in an encounter with the police in Prayagraj and one Sadakat was arrested.
“Our government is determined to take strict action against those involved in this case. We will nab each and every accused and give them the strict punishment under the law,” Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak told reporters on Monday.
“How fearless criminals have become that they are not desisting from attacking even the police. Came to know this morning itself that a miscreant was killed in an encounter,” he added.
Usman, who was earlier known as Vijay Chaudhary, had been converted to Islam allegedly by Atiq Ahmad who gave him the name Usman. He was a resident of Lalapur village in Kaundhiyara area, and had gone underground after the February 24 shooting which had claimed the life of Umesh Pal and two police security personnel.
Usman hailed from a criminal family. His elder brother is lodged in Naini Central Jail and a dozen cases, including murder, have been registered against him. Prior to joining Atiq gang, Usman was an auto-lifter and the Kydganj police had registered a good number of cases against him. His two other brothers, however, are engaged in the DJ sound business. Usman later turned into the most trusted sharp shooter of the Atiq gang.
Talking to reporters, Usman’s wife Suhani accused the police of killing him in a fake encounter after picking him up earlier on Monday.
She said that on February 24, the day Umesh Pal was killed, her husband, who runs his own vehicle (Bolero) at a cement company, had left the house saying he had to leave for work.
Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya had filed a complaint against Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Ghulam and nine others at Dhoomanganj police station for the murder of her husband.
The accused have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of the offence committed in prosecution of common object), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) and provisions of the Explosive Substances Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act.
Meanwhile, at a press conference, Atiq Ahmed’s sister Ayesha Noori accused Prayagraj Mayor Abhilasha Gupta Nandi of conspiring to kill Umesh Pal to embroil Shaista Parveen in the case, so that she could not contest the next mayoral election after the BSP declared her as its candidate.
Noori also accused Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’, a minister in the state government, of not returning Rs 5 crore taken from Atiq Ahmed.
In 2006, Atiq Ahmed and his aides had abducted Umesh Pal and forced him to give a statement in court in their favour. Umesh Pal had registered a complaint in this regard and the case was ongoing.
The Uttar Pradesh Police on Sunday announced a reward of Rs 2.5 lakh for information on five people, including Atiq Ahmed’s son Asad, allegedly involved in the killing of Umesh Pal.
Besides Asad, the other four accused on whom the reward was announced included Ghulam, Guddu and Sabir.