In a major breakthrough, a team of the Uttar Pradesh police today arrested Guddu Muslim alias Bambaz Guddu, a member of the dreaded Atiq Ahmed gang and accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, from Nashik in Maharashtra.

The UP police team in a joint operation with the Maharashtra police carried out raids at several locations in Nashik since last night based on intelligence inputs that Guddu Muslim was hiding somewhere in the city.

Guddu was taken to a hospital for a medical examination after his arrest.

Guddu Muslim is a member of the Atiq Ahmed gang that killed Umesh Pal on 24th February 2023 and carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head. CCTV footage of the daylight murder showed Guddu hurling a bomb during the attack.

Guddu was on the run after the murder and changed his location several times to evade arrest. He is reported to have travelled to West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat as well as Delhi, while the UP police’s Special Task Force was tracking him. Finally, he was cornered in Nashik.

Guddu worked as a property dealer and was an active member of the gang operated by the deceased mafia don Atiq Ahmed.

Mafia don-turned politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were killed by three gunmen from point-blank range when they were being taken to a government hospital in Prayagraj for a medical check-up. The three shooters posed as media persons to hoodwink the police and move in for the kill from close range.

As the incident was captured on live cameras, the video of the killings went viral. In the video, Atiq Ahmed was being asked a question about this same Guddu Muslim. The last sentence Atiq Ahmed uttered and left incomplete as he was shot was about his accomplice arrested from Maharashtra. He said, “Main thing is that Guddu Muslim…” and then he was shot in the head and fell to the ground.

Atiq Ahmed’s son Asad Ahmed was also involved in Umesh Pal’s murder. He was killed in an encounter on 13th April 2023. Umesh Pal was a witness in the Raju Pal murder case of 2005. Raju Pal was a BSP MLA who was murdered by Atiq Ahmed’s henchmen. Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf Ahmed, both were in jail in connection with many other cases, including Raju Pal’s murder. They had also confessed that they had planned the Umesh Pal murder.

Also Read: Mafia dons Atiq and brother Ashraf killed in gang retaliation