In a shocking incident, former Indian MP Atiq Ahmed, who was serving a life sentence in jail for kidnapping and facing murder and assault charges, was shot dead along with his brother Ashraf Ahmed in a live TV broadcast outside a hospital in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Three attackers posing as journalists on motorcycles opened fire at the brothers from close range, firing more than 20 rounds of bullets. The brothers died on the spot. The attackers were carrying camera equipment, a microphone bearing the logo of a television network, and fake journalist IDs. The incident has raised serious concerns about security and the safety of journalists in India.
Pulwama happened and came Balakot, Pulwama disclosure by former Governor and came the cold blooded murder of Ateek and Ashraf. Only a Supreme Court supervised probe can unearth the truth. #junglerajup pic.twitter.com/JnPy6vAlvB
— John Brittas (@JohnBrittas) April 16, 2023
According to police officer Ramit Sharma, the attackers approached Atiq Ahmed and his brother on the pretext of recording a byte and fired at them from close range, injuring them fatally. The incident was captured live on television by several broadcasters present at the scene. The assailants, Lavlesh Tiwari, Mohit Puraney, and Arun Kumar Maurya, quickly surrendered to the police and handed over their pistols. One of them chanted “Jai Shri Ram”, a slogan associated with Hindu nationalists. The attackers reportedly told police that they had been following the Ahmed brothers for two days and wanted to gain notoriety by killing them and wiping out the Atiq-Ashraf gang. The police are investigating the incident further, but it is unclear if they are looking into any sectarian motive for the killing. The incident has raised concerns about the safety of prisoners and the need for tighter security measures in India. Here is also the details in Indian news sources.
It appears that one of the assailants was shot in the hand during the retaliatory police firing, and a police constable also suffered a bullet injury in the attack. However, there has been no action taken yet against the team of 20 police officers who were in charge of the Ahmed brothers. The incident has raised questions about the lapses in security and the failure of the police to prevent the attack. The police department may face scrutiny and accountability in the investigation of the incident.
The Ahmed brothers were notorious gangsters in the Uttar Pradesh criminal underworld and were accused of running a crime syndicate involved in murder and extortion. Atiq Ahmed had over 100 cases filed against him, including assault and murder. He was jailed for life in 2019 after being convicted of orchestrating a kidnapping while he was in prison. The brothers were in police custody at the time of the shooting in connection with the murder of lawyer Umesh Pal, who had been a key witness in another killing they were involved in.
Last month, Atiq Ahmed had filed a petition to the Supreme Court alleging that his life was under threat from the police. His lawyer, Vijay Mishra, said that the incident was a clear failure of the police to ensure the safety of his clients.
Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state with over 200 million people, has a reputation for criminality, and nearly half of its ministers, including the chief minister, have pending criminal cases against them. The incident highlights the need for greater accountability and reforms in India’s law enforcement agencies to curb the menace of organized crime and violence
The recent killings of former Indian MP Atiq Ahmed, his brother, and their son have sparked widespread criticism and concern over law and order in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Ahmed and his brother were killed in a dramatic shooting broadcast live on TV, with three men firing more than 20 rounds of bullets at them while they were in police custody. The assailants quickly surrendered to the police and claimed to have been following the Ahmed brothers for two days, aiming to gain notoriety by carrying out the killings.
Just earlier this week, Ahmed’s 19-year-old son, who was also accused in a related murder case, was shot dead by the police in what many suspect was an encounter killing. Uttar Pradesh has a notorious record of carrying out extrajudicial “encounter” shootings of criminals, and in the past five years, there have been almost 9,000 police shootings in the state, with over 150 fatalities.
Opposition parties have criticised the killings as “brazen anarchy” and accused Uttar Pradesh of operating as a “mafia raj” under the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The state’s chief minister, Yogi Adiyanath, has been criticised for his hardline stance on crime and security, with activists and former police officers alleging extrajudicial killings have become unofficial policy in the state, carried out with impunity by police.
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