CJM court accepts remand plea of 3 accused in Atiq-Ashraf murder case, grants police 4-day custody

Special Investigation Team had sought 7 days' custody, it is learnt. While a ‘western UP gang connection’ is being probed, more details expected when accused are interrogated in custody.

(Left to right) Arun Maurya, Sunny and Lavlesh Tiwari, the three accused in the murder case of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf | Photo: PTI

Prayagraj: The Chief Judicial Magistrate’s (CJM) court in Prayagraj Wednesday accepted the police’s remand application for the three men accused of killing gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in Uttar Pradesh Saturday.

While sources said the police had sought seven days of custody of the accused, according to news reports, the court has approved remand for four days.

“Their remand is being sought by the special investigation team (SIT) which is probing the case,” a Prayagraj police officer privy to the investigation had told ThePrint.

According to the officer, while the police are probing a “western UP gang connection” in the case, more details will be available only after interrogating the accused in custody.

The state government has constituted a three-member SIT headed by assistant deputy commissioner of police Satish Chandra, assistant commissioner of police (ACP, Kotwali police station) Satyendra Prasad Tiwari and inspector (Investigation Cell of Crime Branch) Om Prakash to probe the case.

Ahmed and Ashraf were shot dead in Prayagraj, allegedly by three men posing as journalists, while being taken for a medical check-up in police custody. A day before, one of Ahmed’s sons, Asad, and his ‘companion’ Ghulam had been killed in an encounter by UP Police.

Despite being accused in 130-odd cases, Ahmed had been convicted for the first time only last month. He, his gang and members of his family were also accused in the shooting of BJP leader Umesh Pal in February this year and the 2005 murder case of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal.

Govt transfers senior police officers

Following the killing of Ahmed and his brother Saturday, the UP government Tuesday transferred the Dhoomanganj ACP, Narsingh Narayan Singh, to Lucknow, while Mahendra Singh Dev, assistant commander, 37 PAC (Pradeshik Armed Constabulary), Kanpur, was posted as ACP, Prayagraj Police Commissionerate.

Atiq and Ashraf were in the custody of Dhoomanganj police station when they were shot.

While some media reports claimed there were allegations relating to the registry of a disputed piece of land in the name of his kin, the transfer order did not mention the reason behind the action.

Issued by the UP Director General of Police (DGP) headquarters, the order only stated that the two officers had been transferred in “public interest” and were to be relieved “today itself (Tuesday)”.

Since the killing of Umesh Pal in Prayagraj earlier this year, several police officers posted across the city have been transferred to other districts.

Several of these officers had been posted in areas which reportedly regarded as Ahmed’s strongholds. These included Dhoomanganj, Puramufti and Kareli, among others.

Umesh Pal, a witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, and his two security personnel, were shot dead in Prayagraj on 24 February.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)