PRAYAGRAJ, Nov. 13 -- More than two years after the daylight murder of advocate Umesh Pal and his two police guards in February 2023, Prayagraj police have made little headway in tracking down the prime accused and key members of the dreaded 'IS-227' gang, which is believed to have planned and executed the crime. Pal was the key witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, a case that shook the state's political corridors.

Fresh intelligence inputs have sparked speculations that slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed's wife Shaista Parveen, who has a bounty of Rs.50,000, may have escaped from Prayagraj during the Mahakumbh Mela earlier this year. Also, hints at the possible presence of other gang members in and around the city have kept...