Guddu Muslim had 'bombed' his way into crime world

LUCKNOW: One of the accused who hurled crude bombs in Friday's shootout where Umesh Pal, the prime witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, was shot dead along with one of his police gunners has been identified as Guddu Muslim.
Having once planned to target slain gangster Shri Prakash Shukla at the behest of a Barabanki gangster, Guddu Muslim is known for his expertise in making hand grenades even while riding pillion on a bike.Having worked with the top names of the underworld, Guddu's name had also figured in the murder of a teacher in Lucknow.
Sources said Guddu was peculiar in his assembly of a bomb and could do it in barely 4-5 minutes. He used to carry the raw material - nails, shards, gunpowder, sutli etc - in separate packets to avoid getting caught and would assemble the bomb while on the move. Sources said he was taught bomb making by an expert in Nepal's underworld.
A police officer who has had a long stint in crime branch of Prayagraj, said Guddu had honed his skills in making crude bombs in early 90s. Guddu was born in Allahabad and had started committing crimes like robbery and extortion when he was 15. To keep him away from the crime world he had got into, his family sent him to study in Lucknow.
Retired IG Rajesh Pandey, who was a member of the first STF formed in UP, told TOI that Guddu's name first figured in the murder of Frederick Gomes, a physical training instructor of La Martiniere College in Lucknow in March 1997.
Pandey recalls that Guddu was a member of Satyendra Singh, a history sheeter of Faizabad who was killed when Shriprakash Shukla sprayed him with AK-47 rifle in 1996-97. "We had also taken Guddu on remand when the STF was formed to know the whereabouts of Shriprakash," he said.
Another police official said after the incident, Guddu nursed a grudge and even tried to attack Shriprakash with crude bombs. By the mid-90s, Guddu had made a mark in the crime world. While living in Lucknow, he used to get all the contracts for installation of railway mobile towers.
"Guddu lived in Hussainganj's OCR building for many years. Arrested for Gomes' murder, he had even confessed to the crime. However, he got bail and after his release, he fled to Bihar.
He used to make bombs for Parvez Tada, a notorious don of Gorakhpur. Parvez introduced Guddu to Bihar's don Udaybhan. He joined hands with Udaybhan," said the police.
UP Police was on the lookout for Guddu who was engaged in carrying out dreadful incidents in Bihar. He used to visit Gorakhpur to execute crimes on the instructions of Parvez Tada. In 2001, Gorakhpur police arrested him in Patna but he got out on bail soon. Guddu was chargesheeted by the CBI in 2019, in the murder of former BSP MLA Raju Pal in January 2005.