UMESH PAL MURDER: Slain mafioso Ashraf’s bro-in-law returns to India from Dubai; cops on tail

PRAYAGRAJ The absconding brother-in-law of slain mafioso Khalid Azeem (alias Ashraf), Saddam, has returned to India from Dubai. Senior police officials have confirmed that the U.P. Police has received specific input regarding the return of Saddam, who is accused of taking the assailants involved in the murders of lawyer Umesh Pal and his two police guards to Bareilly jail to meet Ashraf in run up to the February 24 triple murder. Among the accused he took to the jail for a meeting with Ashraf was Asad, the son of slain mafioso-politician Atiq Ahmed.

Significantly, the location of Ashraf’s absconding wife Zainab Fatima, who is also wanted in connection with the murders, has also been traced to Delhi. In light of these developments, a joint team of the STF and the Prayagraj Police unit has been hurriedly sent to Delhi, shared a senior police official aware of the development.

We have also contacted officers of Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, in the matter, he added. Police suspect that Saddam could first meet up with his sister Zainab in Delhi and then go into hiding with her to evade the police dragnet.

Saddam, who has a cash reward of ₹1 lakh on his head, is included in the wanted list of U.P. Police. There are many cases registered against him in Bareilly too. Saddam is accused of managing Ashraf’s illegal assets while staying in Bareilly, police officials said. It is worth mentioning that Saddam had gone to Bareilly jail with the hand-picked assailants days before the Umesh Pal murder and met Ashraf there. The video of nine people — including the assailants identified as Moha Asad (son of Atiq), Mohd Ghulam, Guddu Muslim, Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman, Sadakat Khan, and others — who reached Bareilly Jail on February 11 had also surfaced after the incidents and went viral on social media.

After the killing of Umesh Pal and his two police guards, Saddam had fled to Dubai via flight from Delhi. Police were gathering information about Saddam through a friend of his living in Kareli locality of Prayagraj all this while. His video and photographs of Dubai were also provided to the police through this person. Five days back, a police team visited Hatwa village and questioned locals known to be close to Saddam. During this, the police got the input that Zainab had gone to Delhi. After analysing this lead, it emerged that Saddam had reached Delhi from Dubai, a police officer shared.

Now, a police team is engaged in getting clues after reaching Delhi. As long as Atiq’s brother Ashraf remained in Bareilly Jail, Saddam had also stayed in Bareilly and made all arrangements for him and managed his illegal business. Saddam had provided special facilities for Ashraf through his contact among jail officers. On March 14, 2023, Bareilly prison’s jailer Rajeev Kumar Mishra, deputy jailer Durgesh Pratap Singh, head warden Brijveer Singh, and wardens Manoj Gaur, Danish Mehndi and Dalpat Singh were all suspended for their roles.