Former Bharatiya Janata Party MP Harinarayan Rajbhar on Thursday said gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed should be brought out of jail and killed in an encounter, adding that the gates of heaven will open for the policeman who does so.
The provocative remark comes days after Ahmed's two alleged aides, accused in the Umesh Pal murder, were killed in separate encounters with UP police.
The police say they fired in retaliation, but the opposition Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have expressed disquiet.
The police encounters followed the gunning down of Umesh Pal, a key witness in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005, and two police personnel in Prayagraj last month.
The police said Ahmed, already lodged in a Gujarat jail in connection with another case, was involved in planning the attack.
"Atiq Ahmed conspired the murder while in jail. Atiq Ahmed has killed hundreds of people and forcibly occupied the land of the poor, Rajbhar, who was elected to Parliament in 2014 from Ghosi in Mau district, told reporters. -- PTI