Prayagraj (UP), Dec 18 (IANS): Nafees Biryani, wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case and a close associate of slain gangster Atiq Ahmad, died in a Prayagraj hospital on Monday.

Nafees, 40, had suffered a massive heart attack in Naini jail on Sunday night and was taken to hospital. He died hours later.

Nafees, wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case, was arrested on November 23 after gunfire with Uttar Pradesh Police near Prayagraj.

Police had received a tip-off in Nawab Ganj's Aana Pur that Nafees, along with one of his associates, was coming to his Khuldabad home in Prayagraj.

When the police started checking near the border Pratapgarh-Prayagraj, Nafees and his associate opened fire.

In the retaliatory firing, Nafees was shot in the leg and got injured. Cops arrested Nafees but another accused escaped in the bushes.

Nafees was carrying bounty of Rs 50,000 on his head.

It is noteworthy that in the murder case of BSP MLA Raju Pal in Prayagraj, the main witness Umesh Pal and his two security personnel were shot dead in broad daylight on February 24.

In the year 2005, Raju Pal was murdered. The main accused named in this case were mafia Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf. Both of them were shot dead near Calvin Hospital on April 15, 2023, while being taken for medical check-up.