'Justice served,' Umesh's kin reacts to encounter of Atiq Ahmed's son

Gangster Atiq Ahmed's son Asad and his aide Ghulam were both wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case

Umesh Pal's mother and wife reacted to the news of Atiq Ahmed's son - Asad - being killed in an encounter by the Uttar Pradesh STF, on Thursday, saying justice had been served.

Umesh Pal's family thanked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the police administration.

"Whatever they have done is right. He (the CM) has punished the killer of his daughter's husband. I express my gratitude. He is like a father. Justice has been done," Jaya Pal told the media.

She hoped strict action would be taken against the other accused.

Read | Atiq Ahmed, brother produced in Prayagraj court in Umesh Pal murder case

"I leave that (action) to the government. The government is giving me justice," she added.

Umesh Pal's mother said the two gunners (Asad and his aide) had "committed a sin".

"They have been punished today. We have faith, we will get complete justice," she added.

Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya also praised the police action in a tweet

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Following the encounter, the bodies were taken away in an ambulance for post-mortem. Asad and Ghulam both carried rewards of Rs 5 lakh each and foreign-made weapons were recovered from the accused, Special ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said.

The police encounter happened on a day Ahmad, the 60-year-old former Samajwadi Party legislator, was brought to Prayagraj from the Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat for hearing in a court.

This was the second time in a month that Ahmad was brought to UP via road for a hearing in criminal cases related to the kidnapping and murder of Umesh Pal. On Thursday, he and Ashraf were sentenced to five-day police custody in the murder case.

Following the killing of Umesh Pal, Yadav had tried to corner Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and raised questions over law and order in the state. Adityanath had then retorted to Yadav, blaming his party for "nurturing" criminals. The chief minister had also vowed to "destroy" the mafia in the state.

"The mafia whose name is emerging...is it not true that the Samajwadi Party had made him an MP... He was a mafia nurtured by the SP. Our government is working to break their back. 'Mitti me mila denge' (We will destroy the mafia)," Adityanath had said in the assembly.