The Judicial Commission, formed by the state government to inquire into the murder of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azim (also known as Ashraf) in Prayagraj in April, is expected to submit its report by June 25, said a source. On April 15, Atiq and Ashraf were shot dead by three assailants when they had gone to a government hospital in Prayagraj for a medical check-up. At the time of their murder, Atiq and Ashraf were under police custody remand in the murder case of Umesh Pal — a witness in the BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case in 2005— and his two police gunners. Atiq and Ashraf were prime accused in the BSP MLA murder case. Following the incident, the state government formed a three-member judicial commission to thoroughly inquire into the killing. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was also formed to investigate the case, it is yet to file its report. Initially, the Judicial Commission had three members — Justice (retired) Arvind Kumar Tripathi, former DGP Subesh Kumar Singh and former district judge Brijesh Kumar Soni. Later, two more members — Chief Justices of the Allahabad High Court Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale and Justice Virender Singh of the Jharkhand High Court — were included. During the course of the inquiry, the members of the Judicial Commission visited the spot and got the crime scene recreated. They also recorded statements from local residents and government officials. Additionally, the commission members met with a group of journalists to gather any relevant information or insights pertaining to the case. Three persons — Banda native Luvlesh Tiwari (22), Hamirpur native Shani Singh, alias, Puraney (23) and Kasganj resident Arun Kumar Maurya (18) — were arrested in connection with the murder of Atiq and Ashraf and sent to jail. Umesh Pal (48) and two police gunners were shot dead in Dhoomanganj area of Prayagraj on February 24. Besides Atiq and Ashraf, four other accused killed in police encounters in the Umesh Pal murder case are Atiq's son 19-year-old Asad Ahmed, and his aides Arbaaz, Vijay Chaudhary, alias, Usman, and Ghulam Hassan. A judicial probe was ordered into the deaths of Asad Ahmed and Ghulam Hassan, who were killed in a crossfire with police in Jhansi on April 13. The two-member judicial committee is led by retired High Court justice Rajiv Lochan Mehrotra, with UP Police's former director general Vijay Kumar Gupta being its other member. Police have so far arrested nine persons in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case and raids are on to arrest Atiq's wife Shaista Parveen and his aides Guddu Muslim, Armaan and Sabir. Police said Shaista is accused of being involved in planning the murder of Umesh Pal, while Guddu Muslim, Armaan and Sabir had allegedly executed the crime. Guddu Muslim, Sabir and Armaan are carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh each while Shaista is Rs 50,000, said police.
