Daijiworld Media Network- Lucknow

Lucknow, Aug 14: Samajwadi Party MLA Pooja Pal, widow of slain former BSP legislator Raju Pal, on Thursday expressed gratitude to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for “delivering justice” in the 2005 murder case of her husband, allegedly orchestrated by gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed.

Speaking in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly during a 24-hour marathon discussion on ‘Vision Document 2047’, Pooja Pal lauded the CM’s zero-tolerance policy towards crime, which, she said, had restored people’s trust in law enforcement.

“Everyone knows who murdered my husband. I thank the Chief Minister for bringing me justice and hearing me when no one else did. His policies ensured that dreaded criminals like Atiq Ahmed were eliminated. Today, the entire state looks at him with faith,” she remarked.

Raju Pal was gunned down on January 25, 2005, just days after his wedding, in what police described as fallout of a bitter political rivalry with Atiq Ahmed’s brother Ashraf. Raju had defeated Ashraf in the 2004 bypoll to the Prayagraj West seat, a contest that turned deadly.

In February 2023, Umesh Pal, a key witness in the case, was shot dead in Prayagraj. Within weeks, Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf were killed while in police custody during a medical check-up, a daylight incident caught on camera. Days earlier, Atiq’s son Asad was killed in an alleged police encounter in Jhansi.

“Mere pati ke hatyare Atiq Ahmed ko mukhya mantri ne mitti mein milaane ka kaam kiya (The Chief Minister buried my husband’s murderer Atiq Ahmed),” Pooja Pal told the House. “When the fight seemed endless and exhausting, the Chief Minister stood by me and gave me justice.”

The CBI, which took over the probe in 2016, secured convictions in 2024 against seven accused — Ranjeet Pal, Abid, Farhan Ahmad, Israr Ahmad, Javed, Gulhasan, and Abdul Kavi — for murder and criminal conspiracy. Farhan was also convicted under the Arms Act.