Atiq Ahmed Wrote A `Secret Letter` To Supreme Court, Yogi Adityanath Two Weeks Before His Murder

Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists in Uttar Pradesh`s Prayagraj.

New Delhi: Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, who was shot dead on Saturday in Prayagraj, had written a 'secret letter' to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath two weeks before his murder. His lawyer on Tuesday said that the letter, which was in a sealed envelope, is now being sent to the CJI and UP CM.

"That letter in a sealed envelope is neither with me nor sent by me. It is kept somewhere else and being sent by some other person. I don't know the contents of the letter," Atiq Ahmed's lawyer Vijay Mishra was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.

Mishra stated that Atiq had said that if there were any 'mishap' or if he was 'murdered', the letter in the sealed envelope should be sent to the CJI and Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists in the middle of a media interaction on Saturday night while police personnel were escorting them to a medical college in Prayagraj for a checkup.

The brothers, both jailed in Prayagraj, were in handcuffs when they were killed in full view of camera crews. The last rites of Atiq's son Asad, who was gunned down in a police encounter in Jhansi on April 13, were performed in Prayagraj just hours before the shooting.

Atiq was brought to Prayagraj from a Gujarat jail, and Ashrwaj from a Bareilly prison, for interrogation in connection with the killing of Umesh Pal and his two police security guards in February this year.

Earlier, as Atiq Ahmed walked out of the Sabarmati jail, he had yelled to reporters, "hatya, hatya" (murder), indicating his fear of being killed in an encounter. He had also filed a petition in the Supreme Court to have his trip to Uttar Pradesh for a judicial hearing halted, claiming a threat to his life in a 'fake encounter'.

The emergence of Ahmed's 'secret letter' has now the possibility of a bigger plot behind his murder.

Two SITs formed to probe Atiq Ahmed's killing

The Uttar Pradesh police have formed two three-member Special Task Forces to probe the killings of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf. 

In order to ensure qualitative investigation and time-bound action, a three-member team of supervisors has also been formed.

Meanwhile, internet services have resumed in Prayagraj after remaining suspended for two days in the wake of the killing of Atiq and his brother Ashraf.

District Magistrate, Prayagraj, Sanjay Kumar Khatri told PTI, "Internet services have resumed last night itself. They were suspended on Sunday. Everything is functioning normally, be it markets or schools. The schools were open yesterday as well."