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 the police on their toes. Meanwhile, Guddu Muslim (53), whose skills in preparing explosives earned him the pseudonym of Guddu Bambaaz and who is a prime accused in Umesh Pal's murder, was suspected of having fled to Dubai using a fake passport. Immigration records showed a passenger with the name Syed Wasimuddin boarding an Etihad flight from the Kolkata airport on December 6, 2024. Officials say the photograph on the passport closely resembles Guddu. UP Police had issued a lookout notice against Guddu Muslim, Shaista, Sabir, Armaan and other members of the gang last year, preventing them from leaving the country. Officials not willing to be named revealed that Guddu was believed to be raising funds in Dubai to revive the IS 227 gang. Atiq Ahmed owned property and had other investment interests in Dubai. This was reportedly revealed by his lawyer Khan Saulat Hanif, who is presently in jail, during a police interrogation. Officials privy to the case investigation said the department was likely to issue a red corner notice of Interpol for Guddu Muslim by this year's end. Each of the three named accused in the Pal murder case-Guddu Muslim, Saabir and Armaan-has a reward of Rs 5 lakh on them and figures in the "35 UP Most Wanted" list. Meanwhile, police officials suspected that the IS-227 gang had regrouped under Atiq's son Ali Ahmed, now lodged in Jhansi jail after being shifted from Naini over suspected gang-related activities last month. The updated gang chart lists 121 active members and 74 associates, the officials added. Apart from Shaista, two other women members of the gang-Ruby alias Zainab (the wife of Atiq's brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf) and Ayesha Noori (Atiq's sister)-have also managed to avoid police capture. They have a reward of Rs 25,000 for their capture. A fire that broke out in Atiq's abandoned office building in the Chakia locality of the city on March 1 indicated a suspected motive for destroying vital evidence against the gang's activities.The building was in a dilapidated state and had no electricity connection. Meanwhile, joint commissioner of police Ajay Pal Sharma said efforts were on to nab the elusive gang members at the earliest. "Inputs are being assimilated about the movement of family members of the accused," he said. Police records confirmed that the IS 227 gang, as of October this year, has 121 active members, and 74 associates and sympathisers, some of whom are the city's prominent businessmen, in whose businesses Atiq had invested heavily. Deputy commissioner of police (city) Manish Shandilya said proceedings under Section 83 of the CrPC (attachment of properties) against Guddu Muslim, Armaan and Saabir were previosuly taken, and a charge sheet against them was filed in a court on October 10, 2024. Similar property attachment proceedings were carried out as per the rules against the remaining accused, including Shaista, Ruby and Ayesha, he added. "Continuous raids are being conducted at possible locations for their arrest. A total of 34 assets, with a total worth of Rs 404 crore, that were created from the proceeds of crimes have been seized," said DCP Shandilya. Advocate Vikram Sinha, who's representing Umesh Pal's wife Jaya Pal in the murder case, said the police miserably failed in nabbing any of the three main accused. "All that the police have done so far is seize properties of the accused," he added. In October last year, UP Police had slapped Sections 2 and 3(1) of the UP Gangster & Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act against Ali Ahmed, Mohd Umar (the sons of Atiq Ahmed) and 13 others. As per Prayagraj police, 12 out of 15 key members of the gang were currently lodged in jails....