New Delhi: Union Power Minister RK Singh on Monday criticized Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav for addressing gangster-turned-politician Ateeq Ahmed, who was killed along with his brothers Ashraf in a shootout in Prayagraj on Saturday, and said the RJD leader Shedding tears for the dreaded gang, which has more than 100 criminal cases registered against it.
Singh said that Tejashwi Yadav is the deputy chief minister but he addressed Ateeq Ahmed as “Ateeq ji”, against whom over 100 cases of murder, kidnapping and extortion were registered. Referring to the former MP, the Union minister said, “Whoever was a witness, he used to kill or kidnap his family so that they would not testify against him. He was involved in the murder of Umesh Pal. For whom are these ?” People (Tejashwi Yadav) are crying? A man with more than 100 criminal cases against him? He confessed that he had links with the banned terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Atiq Ahmed’s murder ‘scripted’: Tejashwi
Earlier in the day, Yadav termed the killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf as ‘scripted’. “I have no sympathy for the crime or the criminals. But the country has a law and a constitution to eliminate crime. We have seen in this country that the killers of former prime ministers were tried and punished. In U.P. Whatever happened, you see, this was not the funeral of Atiq ji, but the funeral of the law.
Targeting the Deputy CM of Bihar, the Union Minister said that people have made Yogi Adityanath the Chief Minister with a huge mandate. He said, “Now a dreaded criminal, who has links with ISI and Lashkar, that dreaded criminal has been killed in a gang war and they are shedding tears for him because they think by doing this their minority vote bank will be strengthened ” ,
Singh also hit out at opposition leaders for rallying in support of the gangster, saying, “You people (opposition leaders) are going to become extinct.” This is absolutely vote bank politics. It is a bit sad that a criminal who has Lashkar links was killed in a gang war and people are shedding tears over the incident,” he said, adding that those who fired at him were also caught.
Atiq’s killer shifted to another jail in UP
Amidst the blame game over the sensational murder of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, three sharpshooters, who killed both of them on the spot, were on Monday shifted from Prayagraj Central Jail to Pratapgarh District Jail over security concerns. News agency PTI quoted a senior official as saying that the three killers have been transferred on administrative grounds.
The attackers – Mohit alias Sunny (23) of Hamirpur, Lavlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda and Arun Maurya (18) of Kasganj – were arrested soon after the sensational shootout outside the Prayagraj hospital where the brothers were killed by policemen. Were taking for medical examination – till Saturday night.
Officials said all three were taken from Prayagraj at 12 noon and reached Pratapgarh at 2.10 pm. It may be noted that one of the two remaining sons of Atiq Ahmed is currently lodged in Prayagraj Central Jail in Uttar Pradesh.
On Sunday, the three shooters involved in the murder – Arun Maurya, Sunny Singh and Lavlesh Tiwari – were sent to 14-day judicial custody by the district court. Atiq Ahmed was also an accused in the 2005 Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal murder case and the murder of Umesh Pal in February this year.