Lucknow: Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, both history sheeters, were shot dead by at least three unknown persons in Prayagraj while in police custody. The duo were being taken to the Prayagraj medical college for a medical examination by the police when the incident took place amid heavy presence of police and media persons, according to visuals from the spot.
The court of the chief judicial magistrate in Prayagraj had Thursday granted the Uttar Pradesh Police four-day remand of Atiq and Ashraf which was to end at 5 pm Monday.
Visuals from the spot in possession with ThePrint show a crowd standing near the Prayagraj medical college when Atiq and Ashraf were being quizzed by the media. This is when three men pierced through the melee of media persons and opened fire at the brothers.
By special arrangement
The first bullet can be seen being fired by one of the accused who bypasses the police cover and shoots Atiq in the head from the right. Caught unaware, Ashraf was shot at before he could finish his statement to the media.
Amid reports that the trio arrived at the spot in the garb of mediapersons, UP Police sources said at least a dozen shots were fired by the accused who have now been arrested by the Prayagraj Police. According to some reports, they have been identified as Lovelesh Tiwari, Sunny and Arun Maurya. The trio surrendered before Prayagraj Police officers who were present at the spot and were allegedly chanting slogans of Jai Shri Ram and shouted “surrender”.
According to a statement by Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma, the trio arrived at the spot pretending to be mediapersons and tried to speak to Atiq and Ashraf and started firing rounds killing Atiq and Ashraf on the spot.
Sharma added that a reporter from News agency ANI and a police constable have been injured in the incident. Meanwhile, Section 144 has been invoked in Prayagraj.
UP police were on high alert after CM Yogi Adityanath called an emergency meeting at his residence late Saturday and ordered a high-level probe. He also directed the formation of a three-member judicial commission to probe the case.
Teams of SWAT commando force, UP Police armed constabulary and rapid action forces have been deployed in some areas around the spot in Prayagraj.
Meanwhile, members of the BJP Yuva Morcha “celebrated” the killing of Atiq-Ashraf and chanted slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” and “Modi-Yogi Zindabaad” in Kanpur.
The attack on Atiq and his brother followed the controversial ‘encounter killings’ of four persons associated with the sensational daylight shooting of BJP leader Umesh Pal, including Atiq’s third son Asad Ahmed, shooter Mohammed Ghulam, his wife Shaista Parveen’s driver Arbaaz and another shooter named Vijay Chaudhary.
BJP leader Umesh Pal was one of the witnesses in the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal who was allegedly gunned down by Atiq’s men on January 25, 2005. On February 24 this year, Umesh Pal was shot dead in broad daylight after at least seven persons arrived in multiple vehicles and sprayed bullets on him.
The police had initially booked Atiq, his brother Ashraf, his wife Shaista, three of Atiq’s unnamed sons, shooter Ghulam and bomber Guddu Muslim, among others, in connection with the Umesh Pal case.
However, officers investigating the case later identified five persons as shooters who attacked Umesh Pal, namely Asad, Ghulam, Guddu Muslim, Armaan Bihari and Vijay Chaudhary.
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