On 25 January 2005, Raju Pal was killed with automatic weapons in Sulem Sarai area. Sandeep Yadav and Devi Lal were also killed along with Raju in the shootout. Many people including Raju’s gunner were injured. In this case, Raju’s wife Pooja Pal had filed a case against nine people including the then MP Atiq Ahmed, Ashraf, Farhan, Abid, Ranjit Pal and Gufran. Raju Pal’s child friend and relative Umesh Pal became the main witnesses of this trial.
With this, enmity started between Atiq gang and Umesh Pal, but Umesh was not scared. He kept fighting the Atiq gang from the Lower Court to the Supreme Court. Even when the CBI investigation started, Umesh became the prime witness. Meanwhile, the Atiq gang continued to torture Umesh. Sometimes he was abducted, sometimes he was threatened in the court. Sometimes extortion was demanded and sometimes they were forcibly enrolled in the murder case.
July 11, 2016: Umesh Pal had reached the court to testify in the kidnapping case, he was attacked in the court campus itself. Bullets were fired at them. Luckily he was saved. Umesh had filed a report of assault against Atiq, Ashraf, Hamza and other gang members. Umesh did not bow down even after this attack.
February 2022: Along with practicing law, Umesh used to do property dealing as well. In February 2022, he was at his site in Dhumanganj. At the same time many henchmen of Atiq gang reached with weapons. He threatens Umesh that Atiq has asked for one crore. If you don’t give the money, you will be killed. If you want to do property dealing, you will have to pay one crore. Though the incident is of February, the police had registered it in the month of August.
Repeatedly expressed the threat of life
There is hardly any officer of the district and the capital, from whom Umesh Pal has not expressed apprehension of danger to his life. He had given everyone a letter threatening his life. On the instructions of the government, he got two soldiers under security with weapons, but they too could not save Umesh’s life.
