Atiq Ahmad, a gangster-turned-politician, and two others were found guilty in the kidnapping of Umesh Pal in 2006 and given life sentences by an MP-MLA court here on Tuesday. According to section 364-A of the Indian Criminal Code, the three were found guilty. In the state legislature last month, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath declared that “mafia (Atiq Ahmad) ko mitti me mila denge) (would destroy the mafia)” and accused the Samajwadi Party of honouring mafias like Atiq Ahmad. Umesh Pal, a member of the zila panchayat at the time Raju Pal was killed on January 25, 2005, had told authorities he was a witness to the murder. They were both transported from two different jails by means of lengthy road trips to the Naini Central Prison.
