Atiq Ahmed, Brother Ashraf Buried In Prayagraj; UP Police Release Pictures Of Shooters

Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Saturday.

New Delhi: Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azeem alias Ashraf, who were shot dead while they were being escorted by Uttar Pradesh police personnel to a medical college for a checkup, were buried in Prayagraj on Sunday. The two brothers were buried at the Kasari Masari graveyard, a day after Atiq's son Asad, an accused in the Umesh Pal murder case who fell to police bullets, was buried at the same graveyard. Atiq was laid to rest right next to his son's grave, who was killed in a police encounter in Jhansi on April 13. He was on the run since Umesh Pal's killing on February 24. 

The graveyard is said to be located in Atiq Ahmed's ancestral village and his parents were also reportedly laid to rest there. Only a few distant relatives of the deceased brothers and locals were present inside the burial ground.

VIDEO | Locals gather in large numbers at Kasari Masari graveyard in Prayagraj where bodies of Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf are being buried. pic.twitter.com/9bq84xq3sI — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 16, 2023

Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf, who were in handcuffs, were shot dead by three men posing as journalists when they were answering reporters' queries while being escorted by police personnel to a medical college for a checkup in Prayagraj.

Ahmed, a former Samajwadi Party (SP) MP, and his brother were brought to Prayagraj for a court hearing in connection with this year's Umesh Pal murder case and were remanded in police custody.

On Sunday, the three assailants who pumped bullets into Atiq and Ashraf were presented in a district court, which remanded them in judicial custody for 14 days.

The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has formed a three-member judicial commission to probe the killing of the brothers. The commission will be headed by retired high court judge Arvind Kumar Tripathi. Retired judge Brijesh Kumar Soni and former Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Subesh Kumar Singh will be the two other members of the panel, officials said.

The commission will have to submit its report to the government within two months, they said, adding that the state home department has formed the probe panel under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952.

Atiq Ahmed's Killers Wanted To Become Famous

According to the FIR, the three shooters of Atiq and his brother Ashraf killed the Ahmed brothers to make a name for themselves in the world of crime. The assailants, who have been identified as Lavlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda, Mohit alias Sunny (23) of Hamirpur, and Arun Maurya (18) of Kasganj, were arrested soon after the dramatic shootout outside the Prayagraj hospital.

The shooters, who posed as TV crew and fired at almost point-blank range, told police they wanted to make a name for themselves and establish their identity by eliminating Atiq Ahmed's gang.

"Since the time we got to know about the police custody of Atiq and Ashraf, we were planning to murder them. So we posed as journalists and when we got the right opportunity, we pulled the trigger and implemented the plan," one of the accused is quoted as saying in the FIR.

Police described Sunny as a 'history-sheeter' who had 14 cases registered against him. These include murder, attempt to murder, robbery, and narcotics smuggling.

Lavlesh Tiwari also faces cases of selling illicit liquor, manhandling, eve-teasing, and charges under the IT Act in Banda, police said.

Police are still probing whether Maurya was involved in any crime earlier.

After the shootout, police charged the three men with murder and attempt to murder, as well as under the Arms Act. At least two firearms were recovered from the site of the shooting.

6 people named in Umesh Pal case killed so far

With Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf's killings, three of the family's four members named in the Umesh Pal murder case have been killed. Ten people were named in the FIR registered at the Dhoomanganj police station of Prayagraj on February 25, a day after Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case, in which Atiq was also an accused, was killed.

Apart from Atiq and Ashraf, four others named in the FIR -- Asad, Arbaaz, Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman and Ghulam -- have also been killed.

Atiq Ahmed's wife Shaista Parveen and three other alleged shooters are absconding.

Of the seven people seen in the CCTV footage that captured the killing of Umesh Pal, Arbaaz, who allegedly drove a sports utility vehicle (SUV) carrying the attackers, was killed in an encounter on February 27.

Shooter Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman was killed in an encounter in Prayagraj on March 6. Asad and Ghulam were killed in another encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force in Jhansi on April 13.

The three remaining shooters -- Guddu Muslim, Sabir and Armaan -- are absconding

After Umesh Pal's killing, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav had flagged the law-and-order situation of Uttar Pradesh in the state Assembly.

In a heated debate that followed, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had accused the SP of sheltering gangsters like Ahmed and said the government will ground the mafias to dust ("mitti me mila denge").