Samajwadi Party MLA Pooja Pal has thanked Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath for his “zero-tolerance” policy against mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, an accused in the 2005 murder case of her husband and former BSP legislator Raju Pal.
Speaking during the 24-hour marathon discussion on the ‘Vision Document 2047’ in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, Pooja Pal credited the chief minister for the action against Atiq Ahmed.
“Everyone knows how my husband was killed and who did it. I want to thank the chief minister, who listened to me when no one else did. He gave justice to many women like me in Prayagraj and punished the criminals,” the Samajwadi Party MLA said, adding, “Today the entire state looks at the chief minister with confidence.”
Pooja Pal alleged that her husband’s killer, Atiq Ahmed, had been “brought to the ground” under the current government’s anti-crime policies.
“Mere pati ke hatyare Atiq Ahmed ko mukhya mantri ne mitti mein milaane ka kaam kiya,” she said in Hindi.
“When I started getting tired of this fight, then chief minister Yogi Adityanath gave me justice,” she added.
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Raju Pal, then a Bahujan Samaj Party MLA, was shot dead in January 2005, just nine days after marrying Pooja Pal. He had defeated Ahmed’s brother, Ashraf Ahmed, in a by-election in Allahabad West constituency. Ahmed and Ashraf were later convicted in a separate case and were killed in April 2023 while in police custody.
The chief minister has repeatedly defended his administration’s “zero-tolerance” approach to crime, which his government says has led to action against several mafia figures in the state.
Atiq Ahmed’s assassination
On the night of April 15, 2023, Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were brought to the hospital, also known as Colvin Hospital in Prayagraj, for a routine medical examination.
Around 10:36pm, while speaking to the media under police escort, three assailants posing as journalists opened fire from point-blank range.
One gunman removed Ahmed’s turban before shooting him in the head. Around 20 bullets were fired in total, killing both brothers on the spot. The attackers were immediately overpowered and arrested.
The killings took place the same day Ahmed’s son, Asad, was shot dead by the Uttar Pradesh Police in an encounter in Jhansi. Asad was a prime accused in the murder of advocate Umesh Pal.
Police identified the shooters as Lavlesh Tiwari (22) from Banda district, Mohit alias Sunny (23) from Hamirpur, and Arun Maurya (18) from Kasganj.
A five-time MLA and former Lok Sabha MP from the Samajwadi Party, Atiq Ahmed had over 100 criminal cases against him, including murder, kidnapping, and extortion, over a career spanning four decades.
Once a dominant figure in eastern Uttar Pradesh’s political and criminal circles, he was seen as the head of an extortion and land-grabbing network, symbolising the nexus of crime and politics in the state.
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