Gangster Atiq Ahmed & Brother Ashraf Shot Dead in Prayagraj

Prayagraj: Criminal-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf were shot dead by three assailants in Prayagraj on Saturday. April 15 night, while being escorted by about a dozen police personnel for a routine medical checkup. The former Samajwadi Party MP, 62, was killed hours after the last rites of his son Asad Ahmed, who was gunned down in a police encounter in Jhansi two days ago.

The Prayagraj shooting took place around 10:30 p.m. and was captured live on camera, as mediapersons were following the handcuffed duo being taken to the Calvin Hospital.

Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma said that the assailants had come on motorcycles posing as mediapersons. They were able to get near the duo on the pretext of recording a news byte and fired at them from close range. Mr. Ahmed and his brother sustained bullet injuries to the head and were declared dead by doctors later in the night. The U.P. police detained three alleged assailants, identified as Navin Tiwari, Arun Maurya and Sonu, on the spot and seized three firearms. One of the alleged attackers shouted the slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’, as he was being apprehended by the police.

Mr. Ahmed and his brother, a former MLA, had been taken into police custody on April 13 in connection with the February 24 murder of Umesh Pal, the key witness in the 2005 murder of Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal. The investigators had kept the brothers at the Dhoomanganj police station.

The police have invoked Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in the Chakiya, Kareli and Dhoomanganj areas of Prayagraj to maintain law and order in the city, prohibiting assembly of more than four persons. Special Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar reached the residence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to brief him about the incident.

A high-level meeting took place at the Chief Minister’s residence late night, which was attended by the Director General of Police (DGP) U.P., Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar and other senior State officials. The Home Department also alerted all senior officials at district and divisional level across the State.