Umesh Pal murder case: Accused Arman’s Prayagraj house attached

The house belonging to Arman, a co-accused in lawyer Umesh Pal’s murder earlier this year, has been attached by the police here, an official said on Thursday. Pal, the main witness in the 2005 BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case, was shot dead in broad daylight in Prayagraj on February 24.

Following the lawyer’s murder, police registered a case against slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, their family members and others based on the complaint of Pal’s wife. Arman has been absconding since the murder and carries a reward of Rs 5 lakhs on his head, ACP (Dhumanganj) Varun Kumar said.

All the goods kept inside Arman’s house located in the Civil Lines area were confiscated, police said. In this case, attachment orders were obtained from the court against six accused, out of which attachment proceedings have been carried out against five — Guddu Muslim, Ahmed’s sister Ayesha Noori, Ashraf’s wife Zainab Fatima, Sabir and Arman.

The attachment action is pending against Atiq’s wife Shaista Parveen who is also absconding. On April 15, Ahmed, also an accused in the 2005 murder case, and Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists outside Calvin Hospital in Prayagraj while police personnel were escorting them.

Ahmed’s son Asad was killed in an encounter on April 13. Three others – – Arbaaz, Vijay alias Usman and Ghulam — were also killed in alleged encounters. Ahmed’s aide Nafees Biryani, who was lodged in jail in connection with Pal’s murder case, died of heart failure at a Prayagraj hospital on