Cops say Atiq mastermind in Pal murder

Five days after the high court granted bail to controversial Samajwadi Party MP Atiq Ahmed, saying there was no evidence against him, police...

Five days after the high court granted bail to controversial Samajwadi Party MP Atiq Ahmed, saying there was no evidence against him, police have named him as the chief conspirator in BSP MLA Raju Pal’s murder.

In its chargesheet presented to the court yesterday, the police say Pal’s murder was a ‘‘political assassination’’ orchestrated by Ahmed to settle scores with the slain MLA. Pal had defeated Ahmed’s brother, Ashraf Ahmed, in the by-elections to the Allahabad-West constituency, breaking Ahmed’s 15-year dominance over the seat.

‘‘Ten persons, including Ashraf Ahmed who shot the MLA in broad daylight in Allahabad on January 25, have been accused of the murder. Also, MP Atiq Ahmed has been charged with criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of IPC for masterminding the murder…Apart from Atiq, all are behind bars,’’ Additional DGP Bua Singh told The Indian Express today.

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DGP Yashpal Singh added: ‘‘ We are not letting off the MP in any way. It takes time to collect evidence in a conspiracy charge. The present evidences were perhaps not enough to stop Atiq Ahmed from getting bail.’’

The chargesheet reportedly cites numerous threat calls received by Pal and telephone conversations among the 11 accused before and after the murder. ‘‘Even Atiq made some calls to his brother before and after the murder. Ashraf was present at the murder spot,’’ a senior Allahabad police officer said.

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