"Should Be Hanged": Victim's Mother, Wife On Verdict Against UP Gangster

Gangster Atiq Ahmed and two others were sentenced to life imprisonment today after a court in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj found them guilty in the Umesh Pal kidnapping case.

The UP police have claimed that Atiq Ahmed got Umesh Pal killed as the latter had named him as the key accused in the 2005 murder of BSP legislator Raju Pal.

Umesh Pal was kidnapped in 2006 and later released. On the last day of hearing in the kidnapping case, February 24 this year, he was killed.

A video of the daylight murder was widely circulated, pushing Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to say that he would destroy crime syndicates in the state.

Reacting to the verdict, Shanti Devi, Umesh Pal's mother, said she wants Atiq Ahmed to be sentenced to death.

"It has been 18 years since my son was kidnapped. He was a fighter. I have faith in the court. Atiq Ahmed should be given a death sentence for the murder of my son," she said.

Jaya Devi, Umesh Pal's wife, also urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to intervene and ensure that Atiq Ahmed is given death penalty.

"Atiq Ahmed should be given a death sentence for killing my husband. We want justice and I request Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to help us," she said.

Atiq Ahmed, a former MP and five-time MLA from Uttar Pradesh, is accused in more than 100 cases.