Umesh Pal's murderer shot dead in encounter by UP police

• Vijay Kumar, who took the first shot at Umesh Pal, killed in an encounter in Prayagraj
• The gunfight between the accused, Vijay Kumar alias Usman Chowdhary, and the police took place in the Kaundhiyara area  
• This comes a day after UP police announced a 2.5 lakh bounty on each shooter's head

The Atiq Ahmed gang's shooter, who was the first to open fire at Umesh Pal, has been shot dead in a fresh encounter in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. The gunfight between the accused, Vijay Kumar alias Usman Chowdhary, and the police took place in the Kaundhiyara area on Sunday evening.

According to sources, accused Vijay Kumar, who received grave injuries during the encounter, was sent to Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital in Civil Lines, Prayagraj, where he was declared brought dead. Doctors later sent his body to the mortuary.

The encounter comes a day after the UP Police announced a 2.5-lakh bounty for each accused in the Umesh Pal murder case. However, Prayagraj Police had announced a bounty of Rs 50,000 on Vijay Kumar as his name was not in the FIR. Police sources said as he couldn’t be identified at the beginning of the investigation, the bounty on him was reduced.

Vijay Kumar alias Usman Chowdhary, along with several others, killed Umesh Pal, the prime witness in the 2005 BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case, over a week ago at his residence in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. Raju Pal was murdered months after winning the Allahabad (West) assembly seat in his electoral debut by defeating Former MP Atiq Ahmed's younger brother Khalid Azim.