Yogi, Akhilesh clash after witness in BSP MLA's murder case killed

The Uttar Pradesh assembly witnessed a heated exchange between chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday, after the CM accused the SP of harbouring criminals while responding to Yadav's questioning of the government's zero tolerance towards crime policy.

This came after a key witness in a high-profile murder case was shot dead in Prayagraj on Friday.

Umesh Pal, witness in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005, was killed in the presence of two bodyguards while alighting from his car. One of the bodyguards was also killed in the incident. Atique Ahmed, a gangster and former SP MP, is a key accused in Raju's murder case.


Umesh Pal's family said they suspect Ahmed to be behind his murder. Based on a complaint by Pal's wife, the police have filed a first information report against Ahmed, his wife, brother and two sons. Ahmed is currently lodged in Sabarmati jail in Gujarat.

"These mafias - who harboured them? The mafia (leader) who has been booked, is it not true that the SP made him a MP? First you give refuge to criminals and felicitate them, and then you indulge in allegations?" the chief minister said, to which Yadav retorted that he was not naming the BSP as the party was 'a friend' of the BJP.