By Santosh Kumar Sharma, Arvind Ojha, Kumar Abhishek: It was an almost 50-day chase. And it ended with a police encounter on Thursday.

Gangster Atiq Ahmed’s son was among the two people killed in the encounter with UP Police. Asad Ahmed and Ghulam were accused in the Umesh Pal murder case and carried a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on their heads. They have been on the run since February 24, the day of Umesh Pal’s murder.

Visuals showed the bodies of Asad and Ghulam lying beside a motorbike at the site of the encounter.

Asad and Ghulam were gunned down in an encounter in Jhansi on the day Atiq Ahmed was produced in court in the same murder case and sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

READ | Encounter fake, BJP doesn’t believe in court: Akhilesh Yadav on killing of Atiq Ahmed’s son Asad

Umesh Pal, a witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, was shot dead outside his home in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on February 24. Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, Asad and others were named as accused in the case. Atiq Ahmed is also an accused in the 2005 Raju Pal murder case.

So far, four accused, who gunned down Umesh Pal, have been killed in separate encounters with the UP Police. Here’s all you need to know about the Jhansi encounter in which Asad and Hgulam were killed.

WHERE DID THE ENCOUNTER TAKE PLACE?

The site of the encounter was near Baragaon and Chirgaon, 30 km from Jhansi. Asad Ahmed and Ghulam, who were on the run since the daylight murder of Umesh Pal, were reportedly hiding near Parichha on the Jhansi-Kanpur national highway.

A team of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force surrounded the duo around noon on Thursday. When the officers asked them to surrender, they opened fire. Asad Ahmed and Ghulam were killed in retaliatory action, police said.

WHO LED THE ENCOUNTER?

A UP STF team led by deputy SP Navendu and deputy SP Vimal carried out the operation. The team had a dozen police personnel. Deputy inspector Anil Kumar Singh, inspector Gyanendra Kumar Rai, deputy inspector Vinay Tiwari, chief constables Pankaj Tiwari, Sonu Yadav, Sushil Kumar, Bhupendra Singh, Commando Arvind Kumar, Commando Dilip were also part of the encounter team.

WHAT WEAPONS WERE RECOVERED?

According to police, sophisticated weapons, cellphones and SIM cards were recovered from Asad and Ghulam. The UP STF team recovered a British Bull Dog revolver and a Walther pistol from the duo.

HOW DID THE POLICE LOCATE ASAD?

A close associate of Atiq Ahmed had offered Asad and Gulam refuge in Jhansi after Umesh Pal’s murder. Later, two of the gangster’s associates from Jhansi were taken into custody. Using the information gathered, the police intercepted Asad and Ghulam on Thursday.

READ | Atiq Ahmed breaks down, cries profusely in court after son Asad killed in police encounter

SINCE WHEN WAS ASAD ON THE RUN?

Asad and Ghulam have been on the run since the murder of Umesh Pal on February 24. Several STF teams were pressed into service to track them down.

Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya Pal had filed a case on February 25 against Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, Asad, Ghulam and others. With the encounter of Asad and Ghulam, police are on the lookout for three more shooters involved in the daylight murder of Umesh Pal.

WHO WERE THE SHOOTERS KILLED EARLIER?

Earlier, Arbaaz and Vijay alias Usman Chowdharay, who were involved in the murder of Umesh Pal, were killed in separate encounters. Today, Asad and Ghulam were gunned down in a similar encounter.

The encounter killings of Atiq Ahmed’s son and Ghulam came against the backdrop of Atiq Ahmed’s repeated allegations that the Uttar Pradesh police had plans to gun him down in a similar “staged encounter”.