Lucknow/IBNS: Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav has accused the Uttar Pradesh government of conducting a fake encounter to kill the son of jailed gangster politician Atiq Ahmad to divert attention from real issues plaguing the state.

He alleged that the BJP government in the state is taking the law in its hand instead of taking the legal path. Yadav said those in power should not decide who is right or wrong and who should live or die.

"With fake encounters, the BJP government is trying to divert attention from the real issues. The BJP does not believe in courts at all. Today's and recent encounters should also be thoroughly investigated and the culprits should not be spared. Those in power do not have the right to decide what is right or wrong. BJP is against harmony," read a translation of his tweet in Hindi.

Officials reported that the former Chief Minister was addressing the recent incident where Ahmad's son Asad and an accomplice, who were wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case, were killed by the Uttar Pradesh Police in Jhansi.

The police stated that the two suspects were attempting to escape on a motorcycle when they were intercepted by a Special Task Force team in Jhansi, and they opened fire on the personnel.

The accused were killed in the retaliatory firing. The police further claimed that they had discovered advanced foreign-made weapons in their possession.

The police encounter of Ahmad's son and his accomplice occurred on the same day when Ahmad was produced before a court in Prayagraj for his alleged involvement in the murder case of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005, and was subsequently sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

Umesh Pal, a crucial witness in Raju Pal's case, and his two police guards were killed in broad daylight on February 24, 2022, outside his residence in Dhoomanganj area of Prayagraj.