Atiq Ahmed, a notorious gangster from Uttar Pradesh, and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were killed today while being taken for a medical check-up in Prayagraj. The gangster, who had faced at least 100 criminal cases according to law enforcement, was recently in the headlines as his son Asad was killed in an encounter in Jhansi just two days ago.
The incident, which took place at approximately 10 pm, was captured on film by journalists who were trailing the two handcuffed siblings, who were en route to the hospital for a medical examination.
A high-ranking police official stated that three individuals have been apprehended in connection with the episode, which transpired just two days after Ahmad’s offspring, Asad, was slain in a police confrontation in Jhansi. Asad’s funeral rites were held earlier that day.
At least three people, who masqueraded as members of the press, were observed firing at Ahmad (60) and Ashraf from point-blank range, causing them to collapse. Law enforcement swiftly subdued the perpetrators. Amid mounting tension following their shocking killing, Ahmad and Ashraf’s bullet-ridden bodies were removed from the scene.
“We are looking into the incident. It is too early to say anything. We are yet to question the arrested men,” a police officer told PTI.
Atiq Ahmed was a Samajwadi Party MP and had a long and notorious criminal record with around 100 criminal cases according to the police. He was convicted in a kidnapping case and was also accused in the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal in 2005. He had earlier petitioned the Supreme Court, contending that he and his loved ones were wrongly accused in the Umesh Pal homicide case and that he may be subjected to a staged encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Police.
Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav tweeted about the incident saying, “Crime has reached its peak in UP and the morale of the criminals is high. When someone can be killed by firing openly amidst the security cordon of the police, then what about the safety of the general public? Due to this, an atmosphere of fear is being created among the public, it seems that some people are deliberately creating such an atmosphere.”
