Umesh Pal Wiki, Age, Death, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Umesh Pal was an Indian lawyer and politician. He was the key witness in the killing of Bahujan Samaj Party lawmaker Raju Pal (2005). In 2023, Umesh Pal was gunned down in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

Wiki/Biography

Umesh Pal was born on 20 January in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh, where he grew up.

Family

Parents

His mother’s name is Shanti Devi.

Wife & Children

Umesh Pal was married to Jaya Pal. He is survived by four children.

Other Relatives

Umesh Pal was the brother-in-law of Raju Pal.

Career

Umesh Pal joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in April 2019 in the presence of minister Satya Pal Singh Baghel. He left the BJP and joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) eight months ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections. He reportedly attempted to contest the 2022 UP Vidhan Sabha elections from the Phaphamau constituency on a ticket from the Samajwadi Party; however, according to some sources, he was not given a ticket despite donating Rs. 20 lakhs to the party fund. In a desperate bid to secure a ticket from the Samajwadi Party, it is alleged that Umesh even paid a sum of Rs. 5 crores to a party leader, who asked him to contest the elections from the Scheduled Caste-reserved Koraon constituency instead of Phaphamau. A forged Dhangar caste certificate was made for Umesh in the name of Krishna Kumar Dhangar to facilitate this move. Following an intense argument with the party leader on not issuing a ticket to contest the elections, Umesh left the Samajwadi Party and rejoined the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections.

Key Witness of Raju Pal Murder Case

Raju Pal was an Indian politician who became a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh on a ticket from the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) in 2004. When Raju Pal defeated Atiq Ahmed‘s brother Ashraf in a 2004 by-election, he eventually became a threat to the political careers of Ashraf and Atiq Ahmed. The political rivalry somehow turned into a personal rivalry. On 25 January 2005, while Raju Pal was going home from Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital, Allahabad, a car overtook his Qualis car. Raju was attacked by a group of gangsters in the Sulem Sarai area. The murder of Raju Pal was a sensational case that garnered national attention, and Atiq was accused of being the mastermind behind it. Umesh Pal was a key witness in the case.

Umesh Pal Kidnapping & Murder Case

On 28 February 2006, Atiq Ahmed’s goons abducted Umesh and threatened him not to bear witness in court following which Umesh filed an FIR at Dhoomanganj Police Station in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) against Atiq and Ashraf. A special MP-MLA court in Prayagraj found Atiq Ahmed, a lawyer named Saulat Hanif, and Dinesh Pasi guilty of kidnapping Umesh Pal on 28 March 2023; special MP-MLA court judge Dinesh Chandra Shukla found them guilty under section 364-A of the Indian Penal Code (kidnapping or abduction for murder). The court, however, found seven individuals, including Atiq Ahmed’s brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, not guilty. On 27 March 2023, the Uttar Pradesh police transported Atiq Ahmed from a Gujarat prison to Prayagraj after a 24-hour road trip. Umesh Pal was shot dead on 24 February 2023 as he exited the back seat of a Hyundai Creta SUV in Prayagraj; his two police bodyguards were also killed.

Death

On 24 February 2023, Umesh Pal was shot dead by armed men, identified as the goons of Atiq Ahmed, near his house in Dhoomanganj’s Sulem Saray locality. According to reports, assailants hurled crude bombs at Umesh Pal and fired several rounds of ammunition. Following Umesh’s death, his widow, Jaya Pal, lodged an FIR against 27 people, including Atiq Ahmad, his wife Shaista Parveen, Atiq’s two sons, and brother Khalid Azeem aka Ashraf. They were booked under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapons), 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Explosive Substances Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act. ^[1]Hindustan Times

Facts/Trivia

• Raju Pal’s widow, Pooja Pal, claimed that she had cut off ties with Umesh Pal in 2017 after witnessing him with Atiq Ahmed and his associates.

• Reportedly, Umesh had filed several property-related lawsuits against Atiq. He allegedly provided information to the police regarding the assets and activities of the former gangster-turned-politician, resulting in the confiscation of properties worth crores from Atiq and his family. ^[2]ThePrint