Umesh Pal murder: House of 3rd person linked to Atiq Ahmed demolished
Prayagraj (UP), Mar 3: Authorities demolished the house of a criminal allegedly linked to gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed here on Friday amid heavy police deployment, the third such demolition in three days.
Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) officials arrived at the house of Mashookuddin, who has dozens of cases registered against him, in Puramufti area with bulldozers and other heavy-duty earth movers and began pulling down the structure.
PDA officials said the house was built illegally.
Officials from the police and the administration were present in large numbers as the demolition progressed.
Mashookuddin, 59, is husband of Nur Jahra, the village head of Asrauli village. He is said to be closely associated with Atiq Ahmed, who is lodged in a Gujarat prison.
Junaid Ahmed, a relative of Mashookuddin who was present outside the house at the time of the demolition said, "The house belongs to the son of Mashookuddin, who built it after taking a loan from the bank."
The official first removed the household items from the building before it was razed to the ground at around 6:30 pm.
According to local police, there are over 15 cases lodged against Mashookuddin at different police stations of the district. He has been booked in cases ranging from murder to causing grievous hurt.
This is the third consecutive day of PDA action against "illegal" structures built by people linked to Atiq Ahmed, who has been booked by UP police in connection with the killing of Umesh Pal, a key witness in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal and his two security personnel last week.
Following the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had vowed in the Assembly that his government would destroy the mafia in the state.
On Thursday, a two-storey building in Dhoomanganj area owned by Safdar Ali, an alleged arms trader linked to Atiq Ahmed, was demolished.
A day before that, the house of Zafar Ahmed, another alleged aide of Atiq Ahmed, was demolished in the city.
Arbaaz, an accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, was killed in an encounter with police on Monday.
On the basis of a complaint lodged by Umesh Pal's wife Jaya Pal, a case was registered against Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Gulam and nine others.
On Wednesday, Atiq Ahmed, 61, moved the Supreme Court for protection claiming that he and his family have been falsely "roped in" the case and he may be killed in a fake encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Police.
In his plea, he also referred to Adityanath's statement in the assembly and claimed there is a "genuine and perceptible threat" to his and his family members' lives.
He has sought directions to the Centre, the state government and others to protect his life against the "open, direct and immediate threat" from high state functionaries of Uttar Pradesh.
Chief Minister Adityanath has often spoken about the actions taken by his government to improve law and order in the state, including frequent reference to bulldozers to raze illegal property of criminals and the mafia.
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Allahabad HC orders probe into 'reinstatement' of teacher in UP's Barabanki
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a probe by the special task force (STF) into alleged irregularities in the rejoining of a teacher at City Intermediate College in Barabanki, observing that the reinstatement appeared to be prima facie illegal.
The court also directed the recovery of the salary paid to the teacher during the disputed period.
A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order on a petition filed by the college management committee. The court expressed doubts over the roles of the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), Barabanki, the college principal and the teacher concerned and hence, directed a detailed inquiry into the matter.
Taking note of alleged manipulation of records and misleading submissions, the court ordered the immediate transfer of the Barabanki DIOS to ensure a fair probe. It also directed the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the then joint director of education of the Ayodhya division.
In its order, the court found that the teacher, Abhay Kumar, was initially appointed as an assistant teacher in 2018 but joined an Eklavya Model Residential School in Chhattisgarh as a lecturer in June 2024 without obtaining permission from the management. His subsequent request to retain the lien was rejected.
Despite this, he was allowed to rejoin the Barabanki College in September 2025 on the directions of the joint director of education and the DIOS, and was even paid the salary for October 2025. The court termed the rejoining "wholly illegal" and lacking any legal basis.
The bench also expressed concern over lapses in communication within the education department and directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to ensure that official orders are communicated through email and WhatsApp as well, to prevent disputes.
The matter is next listed for hearing on May 28 when a compliance report is sought.
