Kaushambi: A man claiming to be a witness in the 2005 BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case has demanded security from the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government in view of the recent murder of Umesh Pal, a witness in the case.
The man was identified as Om Prakash Pal, a resident of Chakpinha village in Kaushambi district, who made the claims in a viral video.
ASP Samar Bahadur said that the police have taken cognizance of the viral video and are attempting to contact him.
"A video is going viral. It is being told by him that he is a witness in the Raju Pal murder case. He is being contacted. Security arrangements will be made available to him as per the requirement. A case has been registered. We will arrest the accused soon," he said.
Om Prakash claimed that after the murder of Umesh Pal in broad daylight, his life is in danger, and demanded security from the state government. He claimed that a shooter of gangster Atiq Ahmed, Abdul Kavi lived in a nearby village and has been out of the reach of the police for years.
He further claimed that Abdul had threatened not to testify in the Raju Pal murder case in 2020. After he did not comply, Abdul fired at him and Om Prakash ran away to save his life, he claimed.
A case was also registered in the Sarayakil Kotwali after his complaint after which the police made efforts to nab Abdul. The police have announced a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head. The police had razed his residence on March 3 upon receiving the information about his arrival. Illegal weapons were recovered including bombs from inside his house. "I was also in the car along with Raju Pal. A bullet was fired in front of me. The bullet was fired in broad daylight. One of our witnesses has just been killed. I am another witness. I need security," he said. "My request to Yogi ji is nothing but to provide me security. I was on the spot in the Raju Pal murder case, where he was shot in broad daylight," he claimed. Umesh Pal, the prime witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, and his two security personnel were shot dead in Prayagraj on February 24. Since then, two men allegedly linked to Umesh Pal's murder have been killed in encounters with Uttar Pradesh Police.
Vijay Chowdhary alias Usman was killed in the encounter that took place in Kaundhiyara in Prayagraj. Addressing a press conference earlier, ADG Prashant Kumar said that the killed accused had a bounty of Rs 50,000 in his name. "On February 24, Arbaaz was killed in a police encounter and on February 27, mastermind Sadaqat was sent to jail...Usmaan got injured during an encounter and was admitted to the hospital where he died," he said. —ANI