Asad Ahmed funeral: Jailed gangster-father Atiq Ahmed fails to attend
What's the story
Asad Ahmed and Ghulam Maksudan—the accused in the Umesh Pal murder case killed in a police encounter on Thursday—were reportedly buried in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Saturday under tight security cover, ANI reported.
Asad's father, gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, couldn't attend the funeral even as he moved a Prayagraj court seeking permission.
Earlier, Asad's body was taken directly to the graveyard due to security reasons.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Asad and Maksudan were both wanted for the murder of Umesh, a key witness in the 2005 murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal.
Ahmed allegedly abducted Umesh in 2006 and compelled Umesh to give a statement in his favor.
Umesh then launched a complaint against him but was later killed on February 24 this year, and Ahmed became the primary suspect.
Plea
Jailed Ahmed couldn't attend son's funeral
Ahmed reportedly petitioned the Prayagraj district court's vacation court on Friday—which was a holiday on BR Ambedkar Jayanti—for permission to attend his son's burial.
However, as the vacation court lacked the competence to hear such cases, the application would be forwarded to a relevant court on Saturday.
Ahmed was granted permission to attend his father's funeral earlier, but he couldn't attend Asad's last rites.
Details
Funeral delayed due to security reasons
According to Hindustan Times, the police took Asad and Maksudan's remains to a mortuary in Prayagraj early on Saturday before their last rites were held at separate graveyards.
Two ambulances were reportedly used to transfer the remains, and a police van was deployed for security.
Asad was initially set to be buried on Friday. However, owing to security reasons, the last rites were delayed.
Information
'Can't take criminal's body': Maksudan's family
According to News18, Asad's maternal relatives agreed to receive his body and perform the last rites as per Islamic procedures, but Maksudan's family refused to accept the mortal remains. They claimed that they followed the law and could not accept the body of a criminal.
Encounter
Duo was allegedly killed after firing back at police: Report
The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UP STF) reportedly surrounded Asad and Maksudan and asked them to surrender on Thursday.
The accused, who carried a bounty of Rs. 5 lakh each, started firing at the police personnel, who retaliated, resulting in the deaths of both accused.
Reports also suggested that the police recovered sophisticated foreign-made weapons from Asad and Maksudan.
Claims
Asad planned to attack convoy to stop father's transfer
Asad also reportedly wanted to attack Ahmed's convoy to stop his father's transfer from Gujarat's Sabarmati jail to UP.
Reports also said that after Umesh's murder, Ahmed found it difficult to protect his son and sought assistance from his acquaintances.
Notably, Asad even met with his uncle Ashraf aka Khalid Azim on February 11, the day his father was sentenced for Umesh's kidnapping.
Past encounters
Police killed Umesh murder accused in encounters
Three days after Umesh's murder, the UP Police shot dead Arbaaz, a key accused in his killing, in an encounter, per reports.
On March 6, the police shot dead another accused in the case, Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman, in a reported encounter.
Following the incident, a CCTV video surfaced showing multiple people shooting at Umesh; Asad was named an accused based on the video.
About
What do we know about Raju Pal murder?
The Allahabad West seat was left vacant after Ahmed, then a Samajwadi Party member, became an MP in 2004.
Raju contested the 2004 UP Assembly elections on a BSP ticket and won this seat, defeating Ashraf.
Following this, Raju was reportedly chased and gunned down in broad daylight to avenge the electoral defeat. Raju was said to be Ahmed's aide at one point.