Prayagraj, 16th April 2023: The murder of Atiq Ahmed, a former mafia don-turned-politician, and Ashraf has sparked widespread controversy in Uttar Pradesh. The two accused were on police remand in connection to the Umesh Pal murder case and were being interrogated when the murder took place.
The Prayagraj police have lodged an FIR at the Dhumanganj police station regarding the incident, which details the events that occurred on April 15th.
According to the FIR, both the accused were being thoroughly interrogated on April 15th after a failed interrogation attempt the previous day. During the interrogation, the police recovered one 45 bore pistol, one 32 bore pistol, 58 live cartridges, and five cartridges of different bores, which were found to have been used in the murder of Umesh Pal and his associates. The FIR also states that cartridges of banned bore were found. As a result, a case under section 3/25/27/35 Arms Act was registered against Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf on the same day.
Later that evening, the police took Atiq and Ashraf for medical examination due to their deteriorating health. The team consisted of Inspector Rajesh Kumar Maurya, Sub-Inspector Vijay Singh, Sub-Inspector Saurabh Pandey, Sub-Inspector Subhash Singh, Sub-Inspector Vivek Kumar Singh, Sub-Inspector Pradeep Pandey, Sub-Inspector Vipin Yadav, Sub Inspector Shiv Prasad Verma, Head Constable Vijay Shankar, and Constables Sujit Yadav, Govind Kushwaha, Dinesh Kumar, Dhananjay Sharma, Rajesh Kumar, Ravindra Singh, Sanjay Kumar Prajapati, Jaymesh Kumar, Hari Mohan, and Man Singh. They were sent to Motilal Nehru Mandal Hospital in a Bolero vehicle at 7 pm, accompanied by a government jeep.
Upon arrival at the hospital at 10:35 pm, the police team parked the vehicle at the gate of the hospital and escorted Atiq and Ashraf towards the hospital entrance. However, they were interrupted by a crowd of media personnel who rushed to take their interview. Despite police warnings to move forward, two media personnel broke through the security cordon, brandished semi-automatic weapons, and fired at Atiq and Ashraf, killing them on the spot. The police have launched an investigation into the matter, and the accused media personnel have been arrested.
During the same shooting incident, a third member of the media also opened fire on Atiq and Ashraf. The killers, disguised as media personnel, quickly shot and killed Atiq and Ashraf before anyone could react.
Unfortunately, Constable Man Singh was hit in the right hand by a bullet fired by the assailants. Despite the fatal gunfire, the police immediately took action and caught the three attackers, who were carrying loaded weapons. None of the attackers were able to escape. One of the attackers’ accomplices was injured in the crossfire with his comrades.
Atiq was declared dead at the hospital: Atiq and Ashraf were seriously injured and were taken to the hospital for treatment. However, the doctors declared them both dead. The attackers were caught with weapons still in their hands, which were visible to media cameras at the scene. Some journalists were also injured in the stampede during the gunfire. A forensic investigation was carried out by the field unit after securing the area with cello tape. Constable Man Singh has been admitted to the hospital for treatment.
All three accused have been identified: The suspects caught at the scene have been identified. One has given his name as Lavlesh Tiwari, son of Yagya Kumar Tiwari, residing at Kevatra Crossing, Thana Kotwali, Banda, aged 22. The other has given his name as Mohit, also known as Sunny, son of the late Jagat Singh, residing in Kurara, Thana Kurara, District Hamirpur, aged 23. The third suspect has identified himself as Arun Kumar Maurya, son of Deepak Kumar, residing in Katar Bari, Police Station Soron, District Kasganj, aged 18. When questioned about their motive for the murder, the three suspects stated that they wanted to gain notoriety in the state by eliminating the Atiq Ahmed gang, which would benefit them in the future. The killers also admitted that they were unable to escape because they were caught off guard by the police.
The killers were posing as journalists: According to the FIR, the killers of Atiq and Arshad have stated that they were caught because of the swift action taken by the police. The arrested suspects have admitted to the police that they had been posing as members of the local media ever since they learned that Atiq and Arshad were in police custody. They had been waiting for the right time and opportunity to carry out the attack.
On Saturday, they finally had the chance to do so.
A large crowd gathered at the scene after the shooting incident. The police force also arrived in large numbers after receiving information about the incident. Several eyewitnesses, besides media personnel, saw the attack take place. Suspect Lovelesh was shot in the crossfire and is currently undergoing treatment at Swaroop Rani Medical College.