Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf Ahmad were shot dead from close range by three men posing as journalists while being taken by the police to a hospital for a medical check-up in Prayagraj on Saturday night.
The three attackers were immediately overpowered by the police team and taken into custody.
The shooting was caught live on camera as journalists were following the two brothers at 10 pm in order to get their comments on the latest developments in the case.
Police commissioner Ramit Sharma told reporters that the three attackers had joined the group of journalists who were seeking comments from Atiq and Ashraf.
Images and videos from the spot showed the two men, handcuffed together, on the ground with pools of blood around them. At least two guns were seen at the spot, which the police said were dropped by the killers.
The three accused identified as Arun Maurya, Lavlesh Tiwari and Sunny were arrested, according to a police statement.
Atiq Ahmed, a former Samajwadi Party MP, and his brother were brought to Prayagraj for a court hearing in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case and were remanded in police custody. He has around 100 cases, including kidnapping and murder.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a late-night meeting to take stock of the situation and has directed the police to be on high alert and ensure law and order is maintained across the state.
The Chief Minister also appealed to the public to ignore rumours about the incident and maintain calm.
The state police social media cell has been directed to monitor online posts related to the incident and stern action will be taken against people posting objectionable content in this regard.
Section 144 of CrPC which bars the assembly of more than four persons has been imposed in all 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh after the incident.
The shooting of the Ahmed brothers comes within days of Atiq Ahmed’s son Asad being killed in a police encounter in Jhansi on April 13. His last rights were performed on Saturday.
A police team from Uttar Pradesh brought Ahmed, who was in the high-security Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, to Prayagraj on March 26 to produce him in a court in the 2006 Umesh Pal kidnapping case. On March 28, the court sentenced Ahmed and two others to life imprisonment in the kidnapping case.
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