₹5 lakh bounty, considered on the run: 2023 Umesh Pal murder accused found in Bihar jail

An accused in the 2023 murder of lawyer Umesh Pal, who had been on the run for more than three years and carried a ₹5 lakh reward for information leading to his arrest, was found lodged in a Bihar jail, where he had been in judicial custody in another case since shortly after the killing, police officers aware of the matter said on Saturday.

Mohammad Armaan, a native of Gaya, was arrested in a firing case in the Bihar district after the February 24, 2023, murder of Pal and his two police security personnel in Prayagraj. He was sent to Gaya Central Jail as an undertrial and remained there while the Prayagraj Police continued its search for him in the murder case, officials said.

The Prayagraj Police recently learnt that Armaan was lodged in Gaya Central Jail. A police team visited the prison earlier this week, verified his identity and obtained his latest photograph and thumb impressions as part of the identification process, they said.

Additional commissioner of police (Law and Order), Prayagraj, Ajay Pal Sharma said, “Transit remand has been granted and he will be brought to Prayagraj on Monday.”

According to investigators, Armaan fled to Bihar after the Umesh Pal murder. Police alleged that he later opened fire at a shop near Katari Talab in Gaya. A case was registered in connection with the incident, following which he surrendered before a local court and was sent to judicial custody.

The Prayagraj Police had announced a ₹5 lakh reward for information leading to his arrest in the Umesh Pal murder case.

Investigators have alleged that CCTV footage from the murder scene showed Armaan riding a motorcycle with another accused, Guddu Muslim, riding pillion. They said Armaan brought Guddu Muslim to the spot and that the two opened fire during the attack. The allegations are part of the police investigation and will be subject to judicial scrutiny.

Pal and his two police security personnel were shot dead in Prayagraj on February 24, 2023. Pal was a witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, in which gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brothers were accused.

According to police, Armaan was closely associated with Uttar Pradesh gangster Atiq Ahmad as a sharpshooter.