Atiq Ahmed, a convicted gangster-turned-politician, and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were shot and killed on Saturday night in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, while they were taken for a medical examination.
Visuals of the shooting was caught on camera, as journalists were trailing the two handcuffed siblings, who were en route to the hospital for a medical examination.
Atiq and Ashraf’s bullet-riddled bodies were removed from the scene as anxiety rose following the shocking murder. The Umesh Pal murder case from 2005 had brought both of them here for a court hearing.
“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.
According to the authorities, Atiq Ahmed, a Samajwadi Party MP, had a lengthy and infamous criminal history that included almost 100 criminal charges. In addition to being charged with Raju Pal’s 2005 slaying, he was found guilty in an abduction case.
He had already petitioned the Supreme Court, claiming that the Uttar Pradesh Police may conduct a staged encounter and that he and his loved ones had been falsely implicated in the Umesh Pal killing case.
In response to the event, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party tweeted that “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.”