Atiq-Ashraf Murder: Court Approves Police Custody Of Three Shooters

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Lucknow: A Prayagraj court on Wednesday sent the three accused in the Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf murder case to police custody. The Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police produced the three shooters before the court seeking 14-day police remand. DIG, STF, Anand Dev Tiwari said that the murder of Atiq-Ashraf was committed in front of the media and the three shooters are under arrest. The police sought the police remand for further questioning the accused in the murder case.

He said whether there was a syndicate, persons, or those having enmity with them, from where they got the arms -- all these questions and the real motive behind the killing will be answered when the three will be taken on remand by the police. Ahmed (60) and Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists on Saturday night while police personnel were escorting them to a medical college in Prayagraj for a check-up.

Who are the assailants?

According to reports, the three shooters have been identified as Sunny (23) of Hamirpur, Lavlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda, and Arun Maurya (18) of Kasganj. The assailants were kept in Pratapgarh jail. The accused have a criminal history and many reports claimed that they have links with a Bhati gang. The accused have reportedly told the police that they not only wanted to become fanous but also wanted to get rid of Atiq gang.

Where is Guddu Muslim?

Atiq Ahmed's wife Shaista Praveen and one of the accused in the Umesh Pal murder case Guddu Muslim are still on the run. When asked about them, the police said that they will be arrested soon. "We have limitations but they have a number of means to evade arrest. As far as Guddu Muslims are concerned he is known as Guddu 'bombaaz' and is an expert in evading arrest while Praveen remains as 'pardanashin' (in veil). But we will be arresting them soon," Tiwari told PTI.

Accused in the Umesh Pal murder case

Apart from Ahmed and Ashraf, four others named in the Umesh Pal murder case FIR -- Asad, Arbaaz, Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman and Ghulam -- have also been killed.
Umesh Pal was a key witness in the 2005 BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case, in which Ahmed was also an accused. The FIR in the Umesh Pal murder case was lodged under relevant sections of IPC, including 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder), and under the Explosive Substances Act by his wife Jaya Pal on February 25. (With PTI Inputs)