In a shocking incident, Umesh Pal, the prime witness in the 2005 BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case was shot on Friday evening outside his residence in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj, police said.
Former MP Atiq Ahmed, his brother Khalid Azim and ex-MLA Ashraf are prime accused in the Raju Pal murder case and are currently lodged in jail.
In the CCTV footage posted by SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Twitter, four to five men can be seen shooting at Umesh pal as he was getting out of the backseat of a Hyundai Creta SUV.
Another CCTV footage shows Umesh Pal and one of his two police bodyguards getting out of the SUV when suddenly a man came from behind and shot him.
Prayagraj police has filed an FIR against Atiq's brother, wife Sahista Praveen and his sons Ahzaan and Abaan. A total of 14 suspects, including Atiq Ahmed's sons, have been held for questioning.
As per news agency PTI, Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma informed that Umesh Pal was attacked with crude bombs and shot outside his house. Two of his gunners, deployed by the government, too were injured in the attack.
As per reports, the condition of one of the bodyguards is critical and he has been put on a ventilator, while doctors are performing surgery on the other.
A total of ten teams led by Joint CP of Prayagraj have been formed to nab the accused in the case.
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