UP: Six get lifer for murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005

Lucknow, March 29 Six persons were held guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment along with a combined penalty of Rs 11.65 lakh by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here on Friday in more than 19-year-old case related to murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal and his associates, an official spokesman said here.
The spokesman said that as one of the accused out of 7 was not present, the court issued an NBW against him and deferred the quantum of sentence.
The spokesman said that then MLA Raju Pal along with his two associates Devi Din Pal and Sandeep Yadav were shot dead in broad daylight in Dhoomanganj area of Prayagraj district on January 25, 2005. "It was alleged that around 3.00 pm when Raju Pal along with his associates was returning home, 7 to 8 persons had stopped his vehicle near Amit Deep Maruti Agency and fired indiscriminately," he said.
He said that at that time the police had registered the case against mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, his brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf and other unknown persons. "It was alleged that the murder was committed at the behest of Atiq Ahmed, who was the Member of the Lok Sabha at that time," he said.
The spokesman said that the police had filed a chargesheet in the case. "Later on, the case was transferred to CB-CID which filed three supplementary chargesheets," he said.
He said that the CBI had registered the instant case on April, 8, 2016 on the orders passed by the Supreme Court in 2016 and took over the investigations of the case registered at Dhoomanganj police station. The Apex Court had also directed CBI to conduct a De Novo investigation in the case and also directed that the trial court shall conclude trial expeditiously, he said.
The spokesman said that after the investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet against 10 accused persons, including Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, Atiq, Ranjeet Pal, Abid, Farhan Ahmad, Israr Ahmad, Javed, Gulful alias Rafiq, Gulhasan and Abdul Kavi. "Accused Atiq Ahmad and Farhan Ahmad were also charge-sheeted under section under the Arms Act, respectively," he said.
The spokesman said that the court Special Judge Kavita Mishra on Friday convicted seven accused related to murder of Raju Pal, then sitting MLA. "The accused including Abid, Farhan Ahmad, Israr Ahmad, Javed, Gulhasan, Ranjeet Pal and Abdul Kavi were convicted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)," he said.
He said that the six convicted accused who were present in the court, including Abid, Farhan Ahmad, Javed, Gulhasan, Ranjeet Pal and Abdul Kavi have been sentenced to life imprisonment along with a combined fine of Rs 11.65 Lakh. "As one of the accused Israr Ahmad was absent during the argument on quantum of punishment the court issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him and the quantum of sentence pertaining to him was deferred to the time of his presence before the court," he said.
The spokesman said that during committal proceedings an accused Gulful alias Rafiq died, therefore, his name was abated from the trial. The court framed the charges on October 20, 2022, against 9 accused. "During trial as accused Atiq and brother Ashraf also died therefore trial against them was abated," he said.