Special Court Convicts 7 People in BSP MLA Raju Pal Murder Case

A special CBI court in Lucknow on Friday convicted seven people in the killing of former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal in 2005, a case in which murdered gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad was also an accused, officials said. The proceedings against Atiq Ahmad, his brother and prime accused Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, and Gulbul alias Rafiq were stopped after their death, they said.

Raju Pal, a BSP leader from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, was gunned down on January 25, 2005, as a result of political rivalry with Ashraf, whom he had defeated in the 2004 bypoll to the Prayagraj West seat.

The BSP leader had lost the seat to Atiq Ahmad in 2002 but when the latter vacated it after being elected to the Lok Sabha, Pal defeated Ashraf in the bypoll.