Gangster-politician Ateeq Ahmed was hit by nine bullets, while his brother Ashraf Ahmed was hit by five bullets, injuring critical parts of his body, resulting in his instant death, the postmortem report of the deceased revealed. Ahmed and Ashraf, who were in handcuffs, were shot on Saturday by three men posing as journalists when they were escorted by police personnel for a check-up at a medical college in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Was answering questions.
According to the postmortem report of the two, Atiq (60) had three bullet injuries in his head and six in other parts of the body including neck, stomach and waist. Seven bullets hit the former BSP leader’s body, while two were found trapped inside.
Meanwhile, Ashraf was hit by four bullets in his face and four in other parts of his body. Reports said that the bullets hit the critical parts of both the brothers, killing them instantly.
According to the forensic team, a total of 20 empty cartridges have been recovered from the spot where the two were shot.
‘The conspiracy to kill Atiq was hatched long ago’
Police believe that the plot to kill Ateeq Ahmed was hatched long back, however, due to high security the attackers have not got a chance to execute their plan till now, sources close to the developments told News18.
“The plan was to kill Atiq on March 26, when he was being brought to Prayagraj from Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat. However, due to tight security, the attackers decided not to execute their plan,” sources said.
He further said that the attackers searched all the areas where Ateeq and Ashraf were being taken, including the court, hospital and police station, but could not execute their plan due to tight security at these places.
Sources said that after Atiq was brought to Prayagraj, the three assailants hatched a foolproof plan to present themselves as journalists in the crowd, as the media was the only one who could approach the brothers.
He said that the attackers had decided to kill only Atiq and Ashraf and not to shoot any police personnel or media persons.
Police suspect that the three assignees may have been trained to operate the automatic pistol used in the murder, as they are not easy to operate as they can move from side to side when fired.
The attackers – Lavlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda, Mohit alias Sunny (23) of Hamirpur and Arun Maurya (18) of Kasganj – were arrested soon after a dramatic shootout in front of camera crew outside Prayagraj hospital .
Tiwari was injured in the firing, in which police personnel also suffered injuries. The assailants posed as television journalists and fired at Ahmed and Ashraf from almost point-blank range.
On Sunday, the three attackers were produced in the district court, from where they were sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
What did the police say?
According to the FIR, the three shooters told the police that they killed the Ahmed brothers to make a name for themselves in the world of crime.
According to the FIR, the accused told the police that they wanted to eliminate Ahmed’s gang and make a name for themselves in the world of crime.
They also said that they could not run away after the murders because of the quick police action.
Police said the three attackers had joined a group of journalists who were trying to get sound bites from the Ahmed brothers. He said the men suddenly dropped their cameras and pulled out guns.
The Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a three-member judicial commission to probe the murder of the brothers.
The commission will be headed by retired High Court judge Arvind Kumar Tripathi. Retired Justice Brijesh Kumar Soni and former Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Subhash Kumar Singh will be the other two members of the panel, officials said.
The commission will have to submit its report to the government within two months, he said, adding that the state home department has constituted the probe panel under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952.
Atiq Ahmed buried next to son
Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azeem alias Ashraf were buried on Sunday at their native village in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj district amid tight security.
Asad, son of Ahmed, accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, was buried in the same cemetery here on Saturday as the victim of police firing. Ahmad was buried right next to his son’s grave. The cemetery is located in Ahmed’s native village and his parents were also buried there.
Asad, the third of Ahmed’s five sons, was killed in a police encounter in Jhansi on 13 April. He was absconding after Umesh Pal was killed on February 24.
Who was Atiq Ahmed?
Ahmed won the 2004 parliamentary elections as the Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate from Phulpur – a seat once represented by the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He was also a five-time MLA, winning the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections from Allahabad (West) in 1991, 1993, 1996, 2002 and 2004.
In a heated debate in the assembly in February, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused the SP of harboring gangsters like Ahmed and said the government would “smash the mafia to the dust” (“Mitti mein mila dunga”).
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