Don Atiq Ahmed’s sibling was fatally shot while being escorted by Uttar Pradesh police — and on live television.
In a daring shootout, gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his sibling Ashraf were sprayed with bullets by two youths while being escorted by armed policemen to Colvin Hospital in Prayagraj for a routine checkup at 10.30 p.m. Saturday.
The entire shootout was broadcast live on television, with the two brothers responding to queries from reporters.
Atiq and Ashraf were remanded to police detention on April 13. It was to conclude on Sunday at 5 p.m. After discharging multiple rounds from semi-automatic pistols, the shooters and a second accomplice immediately surrendered to the officers. The assailants who hurled the two used pistols at the scene have not yet been identified. “They are being questioned, and we will have more information later,” said Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma, who visited the scene later that evening.
Atiq Ahmed and his sibling Ashraf were fatally shot in Prayagraj.
While Uttar Pradesh has issued prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in all districts, officials say Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has formed a three-member judicial commission to investigate the murders of Atiq and Ashraf.
Earlier in the day, the family of Atiq interred his son Asad Ahmed and his servant Ghulam Hassan in the Kasari Masari village of Prayagraj. The two were slain on April 13 at noon during the 183rd police encounter in Jhansi.
When a state celebrates a police homicide in cold blood, it gives the court the finger and corrupts justice.
Immediately following the shooting, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath convened DGP RK Vishwakarma and Special DG Law & Order, Prashant Kumar.
According to a senior official speaking to The Deccan Era, the interrogation of Atiq and Ashraf was nearing completion, and as per standard legal procedure, both were taken to the hospital for a checkup before being returned to judicial custody.
The two exited the police vehicle on the hospital campus and were escorted by the police officers as they walked. When television journalists placed microphones in front of Atiq, they were a few feet from the hospital’s entrance.
#AtiqAhmed, his brother shot dead | UP CM Yogi Adityanath has instructed Police officers to be on alert, ensure peace, law & order maintained in the state and public doesn’t face any trouble. CM has also appealed to people not to pay any attention to rumours. Strict action will…
— ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2023
As soon as they posed the query, the cameras captured a hand carrying a pistol from behind Atiq, pushing aside his white turban with the gun’s barrel and firing at his left temple from point-blank range. Simultaneously, another bullet enters Ashraf’s neck from the left side, and both siblings fall to the ground.
In the video, Atiq is seen holding Maan Singh’s hand as the police officer falls to the ground after being shot. The police officer was also wounded as the shooters continued to fire continuously.
As if it were a replay of the February 24 shootout in which Atiq’s gang had surrounded Umesh Pal – the key witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal – and two police gunners, cameras captured two juveniles firing continuously at Atiq and Ashraf from a distance of two to three steps. The two lay next to each other on the ground as police officers and other witnesses, including media and hospital personnel members, fled the scene.
Seconds after emptying their pistols magazines at Atiq and Ashraf, who were once a menace in Prayagraj, the two shooters raised their hands and surrendered to the police officers present. Another adolescent carrying a bag followed and turned himself in to the police.
Approximately thirty minutes after the gunfight, two women – one in her sixties and the other in her thirties – arrived at the scene exclaiming that ‘Yogiji’ and the police were responsible for the murders. The women claimed to be neighbours.
According to Prayagraj Police Commissioner Sharma, Atiq and Ashraf were taken to the hospital for a legally required medical examination. The adolescents were dressed as media representatives and approached the two brothers as if to record them. According to him, they opened fire, murdering Atiq and his brother Ashraf on the spot.
