On camera, jailed gangster Atiq Ahmed, his brother shot dead in UP

A senior official told The Indian Express that the interrogation of Atiq and Ashraf was almost complete and, as per routine legal procedure, both were taken to the hospital under police security for a check-up before being sent back to judicial custody.

The official added that the two got down from the police van on the hospital campus and were escorted by cops. Both were a few yards away from the entrance of the hospital when mediapersons gathered to pose questions to them. Atiq had just started responding to a question when the cameras showed a hand carrying a pistol appear behind him, pushing aside his white turban with the nozzle of the gun and firing from point blank range at his left temple. At the same moment, another bullet pierced Ashraf’s neck from the left side, and both brothers slumped to ground. Atiq is seen in the video holding hand of a police constable, Maan Singh, tightly as he falls to the ground. The policeman, too, sustained a gunshot as the shooters kept firing unabated.

Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma later said that the gunmen had come there in garb of mediapersons. The shooters are being interrogated and are yet to be identified, added Sharma.

Seconds after emptying their magazines, the two shooters raised their hands and surrendered before the policemen present there. Another youth carrying a bag on his shoulder also surrendered. Immediately after the incident, the chief minister summoned DGP RK Vishwakarma and the Special DG, Law & Order, Prashant Kumar.

Police cordon off the area where Atiq Ahmed was shot dead. (Express Photo: Ritesh Shukla)

Atiq Ahmed was brought to UP from a jail in Ahmedabad a few days ago. He and his family members had repeatedly sought protection from courts, saying that they face threats and their lives were in danger. Atiq had also knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court for his protection in custody in the Umesh Pal murder case.

Atiq and two others were sentenced to life imprisonment and Ashraf was acquitted in this case last month. As part of its crackdown on the mafia, the Yogi Adityanath government had over the last six years arrested several of Atiq’s gang members and claimed to have seized or demolished his properties and that of his associates worth around Rs 800 crore.

Opposition leaders, following the incident, launched an attack on the Uttar Pradesh government, with former UP chief minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav 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.”

Minutes after the killing, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “HM does not stand for Home Minister but really for Headline Manipulator.”

Atiq and his brother were killed while in police custody and were handcuffed. Slogans of JSR were also raised. Their murder is a perfect example of Yogi’s big failure of law & order. Those celebrating encounter-raj are equally responsible for this murder.

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) April 15, 2023

AIMIM chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted: “Atiq and his brother were in police custody, handcuffed. Jai Shri Ram slogans were raised. Their killing is the failure of Yogi’s law and order system. Those celebrating encounter raj are also responsible for this murder. In a society where murderers are heroes, what is the function of the court and justice system?”

BSP MP Kunwar Danish Ali, too, took a dig at the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government. “Cold blooded murder of Ateeq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf is the height of anarchy in UP! This can’t happen without a go ahead from the top. In any other democracy the state Govt must have been dismissed for such a heinous crime against the rule of law,” he wrote on Twitter.

Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary tweeted, “Is this possible in a democracy?”, adding the hashtag “jungle raaj”. The SP and RLD are in an alliance in UP.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, speaking to The Indian Express regarding the shooting, said, “This has become a government of encounter raj and bulldozer raj. And without the state’s patent protection… such an incident in front of the media and the police to actually take place is not possible unless these are elements who are patronaged.”

पाप-पुण्य का हिसाब इसी जन्म में होता है…

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

However, BJP leaders had a different line to toe. Uttar Pradesh Minister Swatantra Dev Singh said in a tweet in Hindi: “Sin and virtue are accounted for in this birth…”

Similarly, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs and the MP Mohanlalganj in UP, said: “Whatever one does, he gets the same result, so always keep doing good deeds.”

#WATCH | “When crime reaches its peak…it is the decision of nature…”: UP state minister & BJP leader Suresh Kumar Khanna on #AtiqAhmed & his brother Ashraf Ahmed shot dead in Prayagraj pic.twitter.com/sZBQqNkhS5

— ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2023

Another Uttar Pradesh Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, while reacting to the shooting, said, “When crime reaches its peak… it is the decision of nature…”