The ripple effect caused by the killings of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf as well as the death of his son in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh police have continued to grow, sparking furious debates on related issues such as law and order, judicial vs extrajudicial methods and whether there was a communal angle to the incidents.
In recent developments, UP CM Yogi Adityanath has ordered an official investigation into the killings even as opposition political leaders attacked the government over the violence in the state.
Atiq Ahmed, a former Member of Parliament (MP) who was serving a life sentence in jail, and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were in police custody outside a hospital in Prayagraj when they were killed by three gunmen posing as members of the press at around 10 pm on Saturday (April 15). The horrifying visuals of the attack were circulated widely on social media platforms and television channels.
The attackers, identified as Lavlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda, Mohit alias Sunny (23) of Hamirpur and Arun Maurya (18) of Kasganj, were arrested by policemen accompanying the Ahmed brothers at the scene.
Atiq was imprisoned in Gujarat in a case related to a businessman’s kidnapping and was taken to Uttar Pradesh for court hearings over the past few months, closely pursued by the media.
Police charged the three men for murder and attempt to murder, as well as under the Arms Act. According to the First Information Report (FIR) of the incident, the accused told the police they wanted to make a name for themselves and establish their identity in the State by eliminating Atiq Ahmed’s gang.
The trio all have ties to different gangs and criminal cases filed against them. Two of the three shooters are already in UP police station records for various crimes and a history of drug abuse. Reportedly, Luvlesh and Mohit met in 2021 in Chitrakoot Jail.
“We wanted to kill Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf with the aim of completely wiping off the Atiq-Ashraf gang and making a name for ourselves,” the men are quoted as telling police in the report filed in the case. Unidentified sources also stated that police are considering the possibility of the trio being hired to commit murder.
Following orders from the chief minister, the Uttar Pradesh Police has formed two three-member Special Investigation Teams (SIT) to probe the killing. The first SIT, to be headed by Assistant DCP Satish Chandra, will look into Ahmed’s murder, while the second SIT will supervise the first unit.
Citing a statement issued by Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police RK Vishwakarma, Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said the SIT was formed on the instructions of the Commissioner of Police of Prayagraj.
Atiq was a party in over 100 criminal cases at the time of his death. He was in the headlines since February when Umesh Pal, a lawyer and a witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, was gunned down outside his home, also in Prayagraj.
Atiq, the prime accused in the BSP MLA's murder, was also named as an accused in Umesh Pal's murder. Since 2019, the gangster-politician was incarcerated in a Gujarat prison where he had been transferred after his alleged role in a businessman's kidnapping.
The gangster's 19-year-old son Asad, also an accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, was shot dead in an encounter by Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force last week. Just before Atiq was shot and killed, he had partially answered a question about how he felt about not being given permission to attend his son’s burial.
The two victims were buried in Prayagraj last night at the same graveyard where his son was laid to rest a day earlier.