The Uttar Pradesh Police are intensifying their search for three absconding accused in the Umesh Pal murder case—shooters Guddu Muslim and Sabir, who each carry a reward of ₹ 5 lakh, and Atiq Ahmed’s wife Shaista Parveen, who carries a reward of ₹ 50,000. All three were named in the FIR and have remained at large for more than three years.
Ten people were named in the FIR lodged at Dhoomanganj police station the following day of Umesh Pal’s murder. Police are now planning to send details of the three absconding accused to prisons in around nine states to check whether any of them could be in custody under circumstances similar to Arman’s. Teams will visit jails and physically verify inmates wherever there is reason to suspect that a wanted accused may be lodged there. Investigators will also question him about his movements and contacts before and after the attack and people who may have helped him after he fled the city. Investigators allege that Arman opened fire during the attack while Guddu Muslim hurled bombs.
Of the 10, six including Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were killed in various encounters. The renewed search follows the arrest of another accused, Mohd Arman, who was found to have been lodged in Gaya Central Jail since February 27, 2023. Arman, who also carried a reward of ₹ 5 lakh, was recently brought to Prayagraj from Gaya and produced before a local court amid tight security. The police will seek Arman’s custody remand and question him about his alleged role in the February 24, 2023, killing of Umesh Pal and two police personnel in Prayagraj. A Dhoomanganj police team reached Gaya Central Jail on September 30 and identified Arman. Police approached a Gaya court on October 1 to complete the legal formalities required to bring him to Prayagraj.
DCP (City) Sagar Jain said teams had also been formed to search for Guddu Muslim, Sabir and Shaista Parveen. Police said CCTV footage showed Arman riding a motorcycle with Guddu Muslim on the pillion.
Police are checking records of visitors who met Umar and Ali in Uttar Pradesh jails over the past three years and are examining hospitals, de-addiction centres and other locations that may have been overlooked in earlier searches.
