Atiq Ahmed Murder Live Updates: Atiq Ahmed’s killers transferred to Pratapgarh jail from Prayagraj

Vijay Mishra, the lawyer of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, who were shot dead in Prayagraj on Saturday, said the his client knew that he would be killed. “While being taken from Prayagraj to Bareilly, he (Ashraf) was taken to Police Line where a cop told him ‘Iss baar bache ho lekin 15 din mein jail se nikaal ke kaam tamam kar denge...’ (You are alive now but you shall be killed in 15 days when you come out of jail). Ashraf didn't reveal his name but said that if murdered, a sealed envelope will reach the Supreme Court and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.”

#WATCH | 'While being taken from Prayagraj to Bareilly, he (Ashraf) was taken to Police Line where a Police official told him, 'Iss baar bache ho lekin 15 din mein jail se nikaal ke kaam tamam kar denge'...Ashraf didn't reveal name but said that if murdered, a sealed envelope… pic.twitter.com/4CvqLI7Y1S

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 17, 2023

The three youths, arrested for the murder of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, hail from families not so well-off and police said at least two of the assailants have a criminal track record. Here’s what we know about them so far:

Lavlesh Tiwari

Age: 22 years

District: Banda

Number of cases: 4.

Cases are lodged at Kotwali and Baderu Police Stations of Banda. These include charges of smuggling of illicit liquor, assault and harassment of women.

He hails from Lumar village of Banda district. For several years, the family claimed, he lived in the Kavetara area of Banda in a rented accommodation. His father works as a driver.

Sunny Puraney

Age: 23 years

District: Hamirpur

Number of cases: 13

Cases are lodged at different police stations of Hamirpur district. These include charges of attempt to murder, robbery, UP Gangster Act, UP Goonda Act as well as NDPS. He is a resident of Kurara area of Hamirpur district. His elder brother Pintu Singh told media persons that Sunny had not been in touch with the family for the last 10 years and that the family had disconnected all ties with him ever since he started getting involved in criminal activities.

Arun Kumar Maurya

Age: 18 years

District: Kasganj

He hails from Baghela Pukhta village of Kasganj in Western Uttar Pradesh. Police have not yet found any criminal case against him in the past. Like the other two, he had also been living away from his family. Family members said that during his occasional visits, he used to inform them that he was working in Noida. His father is a farmer.

The three youths, arrested for the murder of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, were transferred to Pratapgarh district jail today from Prayagraj. Police had said that they found that criminal cases had been registered in the past against two of the three arrested — 22-year-old Lavlesh Tiwari and 23-year-old Sunny Puraney. The background of the third — 18-year-old Arun Kumar Maurya — was being ascertained.

As gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, questions were raised on the police’s role. An Editorial in The Indian Express reads: “This was the chronicle of deaths foretold. Don Atiq Ahmed and his brother had petitioned court after court for their security even as there were calls, from the highest quarters, for grinding them into dust. No less than a bench of the highest court had told Atiq Ahmed that the “state machinery will take care of you”. The state machinery did — on Saturday night. By letting the don-turned-politician and his brother Ashraf get shot point blank by three assailants with TV cameras rolling right under the nose of policemen who were escorting the two handcuffed men to a hospital. The assailants — three young men with a crime record, according to UP police — surrendered promptly and are in police custody. The government has called for calm, set up a judicial commission, and assured that due process will be followed.” Read More

Uttar Pradesh Government formed two Special Task Force of three member each to investigate and also monitor investigation into murder of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in Prayagraj.

The first SIT has been formed to investigate to murder of Atiq Ahmed and his brother, and would be headed by Assistant DCP Satish Chandra. The two other officials in the unit will be a  Deputy SP and Inspector rank.

The second SIT has been formed for supervision of the first SIT. This SIT, which would supervise, would be headed by Additional Director General, Prayagraj Zone, Bhanu Bhaskar and would have Director Forensic Science Laboratory and Police Commissioner Prayagraj as its members.

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Monday raised a series of questions over the killing of Atiq Ahmad and his brother, asking why they were being taken for a medical checkup by police at 10 pm when there was no emergency and why it was "open to the media" In a tweet, Sibal said:

Atiq & Ashraf
(The art of elimination)

Odd:
1) 10pm for medical check up ?
2) No medical emergency
3) made victims walk
4) open to media?
5) assassins unknown to each other at the spot ?
6) weapons above 7lakhs
7) well trained to shoot !
8) All 3 surrendered

— Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) April 17, 2023

"Police should have taken care of their security. UP government should think about the law and order in the state. The Court is there to provide justice, killing the criminals is never a solution," said Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on the killing of Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf in Prayagraj. (ANI)

'We know that Atiq Ahmed was not a good person but the manner in which he was murdered in Police custody makes it look like there is a 'jungle raj' in UP,' said PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti while she was speaking to reporters.

A day after gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead under police escort, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court on Sunday seeking the constitution of an independent expert committee headed by a former apex court judge to probe the killings.

BARELY seven steps inside, past the main entrance of Moti Lal Nehru Mandaliya Chikitsalaya, also known as Colvin hospital in Prayagraj, are two white patches of bleaching powder, sprinkled over dried blood. Around it are 29 chalk circles marking the spots where empty bullets were found. Past these patches, it takes just 13 more steps to get inside the hospital.

These markers of the spot — where gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead Saturday night — and the short distance between the hospital and its entrance, tell the story of a security lapse that will haunt UP police for a long time.

Read more

From calling it “brazen anarchy in the state” to demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Opposition parties on Sunday came down heavily on the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government over the killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother.

Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, who were shot dead yesterday amid police presence, have been buried in Prayagraj at the same graveyard where his son was laid to rest.

Three people, accused of posing as pressmen and spraying bullets on the gangster turned politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother, have been sent to judicial custody for 14 days, District Government Counsel (DGC) criminal Gulam Chandra Agrahari said on Sunday.

He said that the court has decided April 29 as the date for further hearing.

"Today all the three accused were produced before the Remand Magistrate. The three accused have been sent to judicial custody for 14 days by the court. Now the date of April 29 has been fixed," Gulam Chandra Agrahari told ANI. (ANI)

The murder of don-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother, Ashraf, in police custody, at point blank range, live on camera, by three assailants, in Prayagraj on Saturday, is the chilling new twist in a brutish crime drama. No uplifting triumph of law, no eventual redemption, seems visible or possible at the end of this story.

Earlier, on Thursday, the police “encounter” of Atiq’s son Asad Ahmed and an aide in Jhansi, had become Encounter No 183 on the watch of the six-year-old Yogi Adityanath government in UP. (Vandita Mishra writes)

The three youths, arrested for the murder of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, hail from families not so well-off and police said at least two of the assailants have a criminal track record.

Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Khalid Azeem alias Ashraf were buried in their ancestral village in this Uttar Pradesh district on Sunday.

The bodies of Ahmad and Ashraf were taken to the Kasari Masari graveyard in ambulances. Ahmad's son Asad, an accused in the Umesh Pal murder case who fell to police bullets, was buried at the same graveyard on Saturday.

There was heavy police presence at the graveyard and only a few distant relatives of the deceased brothers and locals were present inside the burial ground. Asad was the third of the five sons of Ahmad, a former Samajwadi Party (SP) MP, and was absconding since Umesh Pal's killing on February 24. (PTI)

#WATCH | UP: Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, who were shot dead yesterday amid police presence, buried in Prayagraj. pic.twitter.com/q2wolsGIbk

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 16, 2023

? According to information gathered till now, Sunny is a professional criminal and a historysheeter and has 14 criminal cases including that of murder, loot, narcotics transport, attempt to murder pending against him in Hamirpur, Special DG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said.

? Lavlesh Tiwari faces cases of selling of illicit liquor, manhandling and harassing women at the City and Beberu police stations in Banda, he said, adding cases under Information Technology Act was also registered against him.

? Arun Kumar Maurya's criminal history is being traced.

? The three assailants who killed gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf posed as journalists, carrying video cameras, mike and media identity cards, the Uttar Pradesh Police said on Sunday.

? "At about 10.30 pm both Atiq and Ashraf were being taken for a health examination Motilal Nehru Regional Hospital in Shahganj area, where mediapersons were persistently trying to take bite of the two," the Special DG (Law and Order) said in the statement.

? "The mediapersons were breaking the security cordon to reach to the accused (Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf) for taking their bites. In this sequence, both Atiq and Ashraf were giving bites to the media and they were escorted (by the police). Meanwhile, from the crowd of media, three mediapersons with video camera, mike and media Id reached them and started firing indiscriminately," he said. (PTI)

Uttar Pradesh | Bodies of mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed brought to Kasari Masari burial ground in Prayagraj where they will be buried.

They were shot dead yesterday, in Prayagraj, by three shooters while they were surrounded by bevy of police… pic.twitter.com/kqtaWfy9ir

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 16, 2023

A court in Prayagraj on Sunday sent three assailants who killed gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf to 14 days' judicial custody.

Luvlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda, Mohit, alias Sunny, (23) of Hamirpur and Arun Kumar Maurya (18) of Kasganj were caught on the spot after shooting Atiq and his brother dead outside a hospital in the Shahganj area here on Saturday night.

"Three accused in Atiq-Ashraf killing sent to 14 days' judicial custody by a court here," lawyer Manish Khanna, who represented Ahmad, told PTI. (PTI)

The three-member judicial enquiry committee, probing the murder of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf has been asked to submit a report to the government in two months.

The committee will be headed by retired Justice Arvind Kumar Tripathi of Allahabad HC and will also comprise retired IPC officer Subesh Kumar Singh and retired District Judge Brijesh Kumar Soni. (ANI)

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday alleged Atiq Ahmad and his brother's killing in Uttar Pradesh was a "clever diversionary tactic" to shift attention from the "revelations" made by former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satyapal Malik about the Pulwama attack.

Malik, in an interview to a news portal, had claimed that there were lapses in security protocol that led to the February 2019 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

Mufti said in a tweet in Hindi, "Uttar Pradesh has slipped into anarchy and jungle raj. Cold blooded murders and lawlessness is being celebrated by rabid right wingers amidst slogans of Jai Shri Ram. (PTI)

From calling it “brazen anarchy in the state” to demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Opposition parties on Sunday came down heavily on the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government over the killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday attacked the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh over the killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the incident as well as urged for a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the matter.

"You see the way the weapons were fired. It is cold-blooded murder and they (those involved in the killings) are professionals. How much is the role of BJP's Uttar Pradesh government...and who are these people who in the presence of police and media resorted to cold-blooded murder? Who told them? What is their background and why didn't the police stop them? Why the police did not fire a single bullet? A Supreme-Court-monitored investigation should be done into this incident," Owaisi told reporters here. Condemning the incident, the AIMIM chief said it is not only Indian Muslims, but all those citizens of the country who believe in rule of law and Constitution, "all of them are feeling weak today". (PTI)

In a sharp attack on the saffron party, TMC MP Mahua Moitra said that “BJP has turned India into a mafia republic.”

“"BJP has turned India into a mafia republic. I will say it here, I will say it abroad, I will say it everywhere because it is the truth. 2 men in custody shot dead in front of a zillion policemen & cameras - this is the death of the rule of law," she said.

Moitra also said that she can even believe that the BJP got the shooting done simply to "deflect attention" from repercussions to the Satyapal Malik interview.

BJP has turned India into a mafia republic.
I will say it here, I will say it abroad, I will say it everywhere because it is the truth.

2 men in custody shot dead in front of a zillion policemen & cameras - this is the death of the rule of law.

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) April 16, 2023

I am shocked by the brazen anarchy and total collapse of law & order in Uttar Pradesh.

It is shameful that perpetrators are now taking the law in their own hands, unfazed by the police and media presence.

Such unlawful acts have no place in our constitutional democracy.

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) April 16, 2023

A day after gansgster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf was shot dead in Prayagraj, the area near his residence looked deserted and has been put under tight security.

The police have said that the three men, arrested have confessed that they had been following the brothers ever since they came to know they had been sent to police custody. The assailants are also learnt to have told police that they wanted to kill Atiq and Ashraf to become famous.

Shocked by total collapse of law & order in UP: Mamata Banerjee on Prayagraj killing

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 16, 2023

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath on Sunday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the gunning down of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh a day earlier.

"What kind of politics is taking place in Uttar Pradesh and in the country? One day someone is killed and the next day someone else. It is for the society to think where UP and the country is headed. The Supreme Court should take notice of it and order an inquiry," Nath said. (PTI)

Prayagraj police have said that the three men, arrested following the murder of former MP Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, have confessed that they had been following the brothers ever since they came to know they had been sent to police custody. The assailants are also learnt to have told police that they wanted to kill Atiq and Ashraf to become famous.

The Prayagraj police in Uttar Pradesh have prima facie identified the three men caught after gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his younger brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf were shot dead as Lavlesh Tiwari, Arun Maurya and Sunny Singh. They hail from Banda, Kasganj and Hameerpur, respectively, said the police.

A day after two men posing as journalists killed gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in Prayagraj, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs Sunday decided to issue detailed guidelines and standard operating procedures (SoPs) for the safety and security of media personnel while covering any spot or press conference.

Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and brother Ashraf were shot dead on Saturday night in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. Both of them were accused in the Umesh Pal murder. 

Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 Raju Pal murder case, was shot dead on February 24 earlier this year. Umesh’s killing was the latest in a long saga of violence that has followed Raju Pal’s murder in 2005. Central to this story is Atiq Ahmed and his family. What are the murder cases? We explain here

According to an FIR filed, the assailants told the Uttar Pradesh Police that they posed as journalists to kill Atiq Ahmed and his brother, news agency ANI reported.  "After getting the info that Atiq and Ashraf have been taken into police custody, we posed as journalists and started living among the local journalists and were planning to kill both of them," they reportedly said. 

"After getting the info that Atiq and Ashraf have been taken into police custody, we posed as journalists and started living among the local journalists and were planning to kill both of them," said the three shooters involved in the killing of Atiq-Ashraf in Prayagraj yesterday,…

— ANI (@ANI) April 16, 2023

BSP chief Mayawati said the killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf in police custody in Prayagraj raised serious questions over the style of functioning of the Uttar Pradesh government.

It would be better if the Supreme Court takes cognisance of this "extremely serious and worrisome" incident, which is being discussed across the country, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said. In a series of tweets, she said, 'Now, instead of 'rule of law by law' in Uttar Pradesh, how appropriate is it that it becomes 'encounter Pradesh'? Something to think about.'

2. ??? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ???-????? ? ???-???????? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ???????? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ’’????? ?????? ????? ?? ???’’ ?? ????, ?? ???? ?????????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?? ????

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) April 16, 2023

On Thursday, an Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force police team announced that it had shot Asad Ahmed, the 19-year-old son of Atiq Ahmed, a former MP currently in jail for the murder of Raju Pal, an ex-MLA from BSP, in 2005. The STF claimed that Asad was among the shooters who killed Umesh Pal, an advocate who was also a witness in the Raju Pal murder case. A report in this newspaper says that the killing of Asad Ahmed and his aide, Ghulam Hussain, is Encounter No 183 since Yogi Adityanath became the Chief Minister of UP in March 2017. The police encounter has been a subject of intense discussion in UP. This supposed state action against alleged mafia and criminals has been widely condoned by large sections of the public. Badri Narayan writes

VIDEO | CM Yogi Adityanath chairs high-level meeting with top UP Police officials at his residence in Lucknow. pic.twitter.com/cP0MXlC6Cw

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 16, 2023

Raising questions against the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection to the Atiq Ahmed murder case, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut raised questions said, "A murder happened & sec 144 was imposed, the govt there (UP) did it. But if this incident took place despite the presence of (UP) police, then it is a serious matter. This raises a big question on law & order," said Raut, news agency ANI reported.

#WATCH | A murder happened & sec 144 was imposed, the govt there (UP) did it. But if this incident took place despite the presence of (UP) police, then it is a serious matter. This raises a big question on law & order: Uddhav Thackeray faction leader, Sanjay Raut on the killing… pic.twitter.com/fCD5mgjink

— ANI (@ANI) April 16, 2023

A day after gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf was shot dead in Prayagraj, the assailants told the Uttar Pradesh police that they wanted to kill the due “to become popular,” news agency ANI reported.

"We wanted to kill gangster-turned politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf to become popular," said the three shooters involved in the killing of Atiq-Ashraf in Prayagraj yesterday, to police during interrogation, as mentioned in the FIR https://t.co/QZZBw0OSKN

— ANI (@ANI) April 16, 2023

Questioning the killing of Asad Ahmed, son of now-murdered gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed's son, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal said, "... young boy (Asad) whose age is 19, how can he threaten the security of the country? If you want to catch him, hit him on his leg, prosecute him. Why do you want to kill him? 

#WATCH | ...A young boy (Asad) whose age is 19, how can he threaten the security of the country? If you want to catch him, hit him on his leg, prosecute him. Why do you want to kill him? : Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal pic.twitter.com/em27Iv5fAY

— ANI (@ANI) April 16, 2023

Police patrolling was intensified on Sunday in Prayagraj's Chakiya area where gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad's house is located even as the Uttar Pradesh police tightened security across the state, a day after Atiq and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range.

Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) have been issued in all districts of Uttar Pradesh to prevent any untoward incident. Internet services remain shut in Prayagraj district as part of the security measures.

The two brothers were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists in the middle of a media interaction on Saturday night while police personnel were escorting them to a medical college here for a checkup. Briefing reporters about the incident, Commissioner of Police, Prayagraj, Ramit Sharma had on Saturday said the three assailants, who were arrested immediately after the incident, had joined the group of media persons who were trying to get sound bites from Ahmad and Ashraf. (PTI)

Hours after the shocking shootout of mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma on April 15 briefed on the ongoing investigation over the incident and informed that the shooters were disguised as reporters and have been arrested for questioning. 

Hours after gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were sprayed with bullets by two youths in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, the father of one of the assailants said Sunday his son was “jobless and a drug addict”, news agency ANI reported. According to the news agency, the assailants have been identified as Lovelesh and Sunny Singh.

A day after gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead in Prayagraj, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said "violating law for political purposes not good for our democracy".

In a tweet, she said: "The law of our country is written in the constitution, this law is paramount. The criminals should be given the harshest punishment, but it should be under the law of the land". 

????? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ??, ?? ?????? ???????? ??? ????????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?????, ??? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ??????

???? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ????????? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ??? ??? ???? ???

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) April 16, 2023

By coincidence I travelled to Uttar Pradesh two days before the UP Police shot dead two young men in a field near Jhansi last week. The ‘encounter’ was part of Yogi Adityanath’s stated intent to liquidate all gangsters. And what does this have to do with my own wanderings in Yogi land? I shall explain. I returned to a town called Kosi Kalan that I last visited five years ago. It is a grim, dismal, filthy town with a large Muslim population. When I describe the conditions in which people live you might understand why this state breeds so many criminals and gangsters. Tavleen Singh writes

A day after gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead in Prayagraj, heavy security has been deployed outside the residence of Umesh Pal, who was allegedly murdered by the Ahmed family early this year.

Uttar Pradesh | Security deployed outside the residence of Umesh Pal in Prayagraj after the mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead by assailants yesterday. pic.twitter.com/y0wSDpNiZp

— ANI (@ANI) April 16, 2023

Coming up next on the watch of the six-year-old Yogi Adityanath government in UP: Encounter No 184. Asad Ahmed, son of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed, and an aide, were killed in Encounter No 183 in Jhansi on Thursday, which was also the third encounter in the Umesh Pal murder case, and third in the first 13 days of April. Those who are targeted, killed or maimed in these chilling and chillingly frequent “encounters” flaunted by the UP police and commended by the chief minister himself are often history-sheeters. Atiq Ahmed, lodged in Sabarmati Jail, at the centre of the latest spate of encounters that go back to the 2005 killing of BSP MLA Raju Pal, has around 100 cases lodged against him, including for murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, extortion. Read here

In a tweet, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Sunday said, "I can even believe BJP got UP shooting done simply to deflect attention away from Satyapal Malik’s interview repercussions". Nothing is beyond "this government," Moitra added. 

I can even believe BJP got UP shooting done simply to deflect attention away from Satyapal Malik’s interview repercussions.
Nothing, just nothing, is beyond this government.

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) April 16, 2023

The strongman-politician Atiq Ahmed's unchallenged run in Prayagraj for over four decades had come to an end – his “mitti mein mil gaye” an admission of defeat that came days after Yogi Adityanath declared in the Assembly, “Iss mafia ko mitti me mila denge”. The Chief Minister was speaking a day after Umesh Pal — a key witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in which Atiq was an accused — was shot dead. Must Read

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who had also questioned Thursday’s encounter killing of Atiq’s son Asad on Thursday, said that attempts are being made to “deliberately” create an “atmosphere of fear”.

The SP chief tweeted, “Crime has reached its peak in Uttar Pradesh and the morale of the criminals is high. When someone can be killed by firing openly amid the security cordon of the police, then what about the safety of the general public. An atmosphere of fear is being created among the public and it seems some people are doing it deliberately."

???? ??? ????? ?? ????????? ?? ??? ?? ?? ????????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ???????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ?? ???? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ?? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ??, ??? ???? ?? ??? ??? ???????? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ????

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) April 15, 2023

Hitting out at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi demanded the resignation of CM Yogi Adityanath and asked the Supreme Court to form a team to investigate the killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, and his brother in Prayagraj last night. "We also demand all police officers present there should be removed from service," Owaisi said. 

#WATCH | I demand the resignation of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the Supreme Court to form a team and investigate this matter. We also demand all police officers present there should be removed from service: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Atiq-Ashraf's murder pic.twitter.com/zRdm4Rxoxk

— ANI (@ANI) April 16, 2023

With the killing of son Asad in the UP police encounter Thursday and the death of Atiq Ahmed and brother Ashraf on Saturday night, don Atiq’s family has been, as a senior police officer said, “almost wiped out.” Wife Shaista Parveen, who carries a reward of Rs 50,000 is absconding, and Atiq’s two sons Umar and Ali are in jail. His two minor sons are in the Children Protection Home under close watch of the police.

In all, six from Atiq’s side including himself, son Asad and aides Arbaz, Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman and Ghulam Hassan have been killed since the February 24 daylight murder of Umesh Pal and two policemen. Read more

Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot by unidentified assailants near a medical college in Prayagraj on Saturday night. The shooting was caught on camera as mediapersons had been following the duo.

The on-camera killings of jailed gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf at Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj late on Saturday evoked sharp reactions from leaders of many opposition parties, including the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, BSP, Rashtriya Lok Dal, and AIMIM.

Congress general secretary in-charge (communication) Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “HM does not stand for Home Minister but really for Headline Manipulator.” Read here

HM does not stand for Home Minister but really for Headline Manipulator.

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 15, 2023

While no official statement was made by the ruling BJP, Uttar Pradesh minister Swatantra Dev Singh tweeted, “Paap aur punya ka hisaab isi janam mein hota hai (sin and virtue are accounted for in this lifetime).”

???-????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??…

— Swatantra Dev Singh (@swatantrabjp) April 15, 2023

In television footage, Atiq Ahmed, accompanied by his brother, was seen talking to reporters when at least two men with pistols opened fire. This comes barely days after his son, 19-year-old Asad Ahmed, was killed in an encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force. Asad Ahmed was laid to rest earlier on Saturday. Watch the moment they were shot here

Warning: Disturbing visuals, please use discretion while watching.

#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Moment when Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were shot dead while interacting with media.

(Warning: Disturbing Visuals) pic.twitter.com/xCmf0kOfcQ

— ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2023

Days after his son Asad, who was wanted in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case, was killed in an encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Police in Jhansi, jailed gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were shot dead in Prayagraj on Saturday night. The duo was murdered while they were being taken for a medical test.

The former Samajwadi Party leader was reportedly shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists. The trio surrendered before the police immediately. Must Read