Two former chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, national presidents of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party respectively, have demanded a thorough probe into the encounter of Atiq Ahmad’s son Asad, saying “truth should come outâ€.
Calling the encounter of Asad as fake, Akhilesh Yadav said that it (encounter) was just the government's way of imparting justice.
"The Bharatiya Janata Party does not believe in courts at all. Today's and other recent encounters should be thoroughly investigated and the culprits should not be spared," he said.
Yadav further said that it was BJP’s well-thought plan to divert the attention of people from the pressing crisis like price rise and loss of employment.
Demanding a high-level probe into the encounter, Mayawati said: "Apprehension of a repeat of the Vikas Dubey encounter has come true, and people are discussing the 'truth' behind the encounter."
Vikas Dubey, the mastermind of the Bikaru ambush in which eight policemen were killed, was shot dead in an encounter when he tried to flee from police custody when he was being taken from Ujjain to Unnao.
Asad, son of Atiq Ahmad, and shooter Ghulam, were killed in an encounter in Jhansi on Thursday. Both were wanted by the police for their alleged involvement in the murder of Umesh Pal in Prayagraj.
The police recovered sophisticated weapons that were made in a foreign country. There was a reward of Rs 5 lakh each on Asad and Ghulam Mohammad.
The mother of Umesh Pal on Thursday expressed her gratitude to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and for delivering “justiceâ€.
Both Asad and Ghulam were on the run since the killing of Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 murder of then BSP legislator Raju Pal. Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya had alleged in a police complaint that Atiq Ahmad, his brother Ashraf, son Asad, their accomplice Ghulam and others were behind the killing.
Atiq Ahmad, the 60-year-old former Samajwadi Party legislator, was brought to Prayagraj for the second time within a month from Sabarmati jail in Gujarat for hearing in criminal cases related to the kidnapping and murder of Umesh Pal. On Thursday, he and Ashraf were sentenced to five-day police custody in the murder case.
