A special CBI court in Lucknow on Friday convicted seven people in the killing of former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal in 2005, a case in which murdered gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad was also an accused, officials said. The proceedings against Atiq Ahmad, his brother and prime accused Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, and Gulbul alias Rafiq were stopped after their death, they said.
Raju Pal, a BSP leader from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, was gunned down on January 25, 2005, as a result of political rivalry with Ashraf, whom he had defeated in the 2004 bypoll to the Prayagraj West seat.
The BSP leader had lost the seat to Atiq Ahmad in 2002 but when the latter vacated it after being elected to the Lok Sabha, Pal defeated Ashraf in the bypoll.
The Central Bureau of Investigation had taken over the probe into the case in 2016.
The Special Judge CBI, Lucknow, held Ranjeet Pal, Abid, Farhan Ahmad, Israr Ahmad, Javed, Gulhasan, and Abdul Kavi guilty in the case for criminal conspiracy and murder among other serious charges. Accused Farhan Ahmad was additionally held guilty under the Indian Arms Act.
Raju Pal’s wife Pooja Pal welcomed the judgment but said they should have been sentenced to death. “I am satisfied with the court’s decision. But the accused should have been given death sentence because an MLA was murdered in broad daylight,” she said over phone from Lucknow.
She said along with her husband, two others were also murdered. “This crime is so heinous that the culprits should have been given the death sentence,” she said.
On April 15 last year, Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were killed in a sensational on-camera shooting when the assailants opened fire on them near a medical college in Prayagraj while in police custody. The shooting was caught on camera as mediapersons were following the duo being escorted to the hospital by the police for a medical check-up.
At least two people were seen firing from close range at the brothers who fell to the ground, while police personnel overpowered the attackers.
