Sunday, 16 April 2023 | PNS | Prayagraj
Duo killed on way to medical test by 3 shooters in journalist guise, judicial probe ordered, Section 144 imposed in UP
In a dramatic turn of events, jailed gangster-turned politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were shot dead by three youths in Prayagrag on Saturday night around 10 pm while they were being escorted by police to a medical college for mandatory medical tests on Saturday night here. The firing took place on the MLN Medical College premises.
A police officer said the three assailants had joined the group of mediapersons who were trying to get sound bites from Ahmad and Ashraf. Atiq (60) and Ashraf were handcuffed as they were approached by media personnel. Suddenly one of the assailants whipped out a weapon and shot dead Atiq in his head at point-blank range in full view of camera crews around 10 pm. Subsequently, a burst of rapid fire targeted Ashraf and as panic and chaos descended on the scene, the assailants could be seen pumping nearly 20 rounds into the fallen duo. The three assailants were then subdued by the police and arrested.
Video footage showed a man thrusting a gun at Atiq’s head as he was talking to reporters. The horrifying visuals were circulated widely on social media platforms and TV news channels. The attackers were chanting Jai Shri Ram and immediately after they killed Atiq and Ashraf. The three assailants initially identified as Luvlesh, Sunny and Arun have been arrested. A police constable was injured in the incident as a bullet hit his arm while a journalist was also hurt after he fell during the commotion that followed the shooting.
The bullet-riddled bodies of Atiq and Ashraf were taken away from the spot as tension gripped the area after the sensational killings. 17 cops deployed for Atiq security have been suspended. “We are looking into the incident. It is too early to say anything. We are yet to question the arrested men,” a police officer said. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath convened an emergency meeting with senior police officials on getting the news. Later, Principal Secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad was rushed to Allahabad. Officials said the UP CM has formed a three-member judicial commission to probe the killing of Atiq and his brother. They added that prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) have been issued in all districts of UP. Reacting to the incident, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi: “Crime has reached its peak in Uttar Pradesh and the criminals are unfazed. When someone can be shot dead amid a police cordon, then what about the safety of the general public? An atmosphere of fear is being created among the public due to this and it seems that some people are deliberately creating such an atmosphere.” Atiq, a former SP MP, and his brother were brought to Prayagraj for a court hearing in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case and were remanded in police custody.
Atiq’s son Asad and one of his accomplices were killed in a police encounter in Jhansi on April 13. The last rites of Asad were performed at the Kasari Masari graveyard here on Saturday amid heavy police security, with only a few distant relatives and locals present inside the burial ground. Incidentally, Atiq and Ashraf were being questioned by the Uttar Pradesh Police at the Dhoomanganj police station, around 3 km from the burial venue. Asked by reporters to comment on Asad’s death, his uncle Ashraf said, “Allah has taken back what belonged to him.” Umesh Pal, a key witness in the murder case of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal, and his two police security guards were shot dead outside his Dhoomanganj residence here on February 24.
Based on a complaint lodged by Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya Pal, a case was registered on February 25 against Ahmad, Ashraf, Ahmad’s wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Ghulam, and nine others. A police team from the Uttar Pradesh brought Atiq, who was lodged in the highsecurity Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, to Prayagraj on March 26 to produce him in a court in the 2006 Umesh Pal kidnapping case. On March 28, the court sentenced Atiq and two others to life imprisonment in the kidnapping case. In 2006, Atiq and his aides abducted Umesh Pal and forced him to give a statement in court in their favour. Umesh Pal had got a complaint registered in this regard.
The Supreme Court had in April 2019 directed that Atiq be shifted to a high-security jail in Gujarat after he was accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and assault of Lucknow-based real-estate businessman Mohit Jaiswal while in jail. Atiq was named in more than 100 criminal cases, including the Umesh Pal murder case, police said. Among the most sensational murders in which Atiq was allegedly involved was that of Raju Pal, the then BSP MLA who was shot dead in 2005.
