Guddu Muslim, whose name propped up after the killing of Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf, is the most dreaded criminal, IGP, UP STF, Amitabh Yash said.
Inspector general of police of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) Amitabh Yash said Guddu Muslim, whose name propped up after the killing of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf, is the most dreaded criminal and a former professional shooter.
“Among all the people wanted in the murder of Umesh Pal and his security personnel, Guddu Muslim is the most dreaded criminal and a former professional shooter. We are trying to nab him. We hope he is caught soon,” Amitabh Yash told news agency ANI.
Yash claimed that he had arrested Guddu in 1999, when he was smuggling drugs. "But he got bail with the help of Atiq’s lawyers. He is a bomb maker. When Umesh Pal was murdered, I identified him (Guddu Muslim) easily on CCTV,” India Today quoted Yash as saying.
“He is a professional criminal and must be caught. He can make bombs on the go. Until he is arrested, he remains a big threat,” he added.
Three of the Atiq Ahmad family's four members named in the Umesh Pal murder case have now been killed. Ten people were named in the FIR registered at the Dhoomanganj police station in Prayagraj on February 25, a day after Umesh Pal was killed. Ahmad's son Asad was also named as a shooter, along with six others.
Apart from Ahmad and Ashraf, four others named in the FIR - Asad, Arbaaz, Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman and Ghulam - have also been killed.
Ahmad's wife Shaista Parveen and three other alleged shooters - Guddu Muslim, Sabir and Armaan - are absconding. Umesh Pal was a key witness in the 2005 MLA Raju Pal murder case, in which Ahmad was also an accused.
Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf were speaking to the media outside a hospital in Prayagraj, when they were shot dead at point-blank range by men who posed as journalists. “Main baat yeh hai ki Guddu Muslim... (the main point is that Guddu Muslim),” were Ashraf’s last words before he and Atiq were shot dead.
Who is Guddu Muslims?
According to several police officers, Ashraf was about to spill out crucial information about Guddu Muslim while speaking to mediapersons but before he could disclose anything, the three shooters pumped several bullets into him.
One of the assailants of Umesh Pal who has so far managed to evade arrest is 50-year-old Guddu. He hurled the bombs with precision during the Umesh Pal murder. After the death of Asad and Ghulam, Guddu has become the most wanted accused in the case.
Born in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), he got involved in extortion and robbery during his school days itself. Soon, he came in contact with the “established players of the underworld”. Gradually, he became a specialist in crude bombs.
When his family members got fed up with him, they sent him to Lucknow to a relative’s house. They thought the change in the city will change his heart too. Au contraire, he joined the “big league” of criminals and started working with two dreaded eastern UP dons -- Abhay Singh and Dhananjay Singh.
A former DIG who served with STF said Guddu Muslim’s name first came up in the murder of Fedrick J Golmes, the games teacher of La Martiniere school in 1997.
In 1996, Guddu killed contractor Santosh Singh. After poisoning Singh, Guddu took his rifle and car too.
Another STF officer said climbing the ladders of the underworld, Guddu started securing tenders and contracts for his bosses. To this end, he did not shy away from challenging Ajeet Singh, a notorious gangster from Unnao. Muslim used to kidnap officials to secure the tenders.
