Days After Atiq Ahmed-Ashraf Murder, Bomb Hurled At Their Lawyer's Home In Prayagraj - WATCH

While the police claimed that Atiq Ahmed's lawyer was not the target of the bomb attack, the latter said that it was an attempt "to create fear and terror".

Prayagraj: Days after gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were gunned down in full media glare and amid heavy police presence in Prayagraj, a crude bomb was thrown at their lawyer’s residence in the city. According to the Prayagraj Police, a crude bomb was hurled in a bylane near the residence of one of the lawyers of slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad on Tuesday. However, there was no immediate report of any casualty in the explosion that occurred at around 2.30 pm in Katra locality here, the police said.

While SHO of Kernalganj Police Station Ram Mohan Rai claimed Atiq's lawyer Dayashankar Mishra was not the target and the incident was a fallout of personal enmity between two youths, the lawyer claimed that it was an attempt "to create fear and terror".

WATCH CRUDE BOMB HURLED AT ATIQ'S LAWYER'S HOME

VIDEO | Crude bomb explosion reported in Katra area of Prayagraj. More details are awaited. (No audio) pic.twitter.com/WjRrVfEmgA

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 18, 2023

"I was in the court when my son informed me that bombs have been hurled. I rushed home. ...I think this has been done to frighten me, to create terror. It is a big conspiracy... It is for the police to find out who is behind this," Mishra told reporters.

"My daughter and the locals saw that there was one person involved and three bombs were hurled," he claimed. Forensic experts had gathered evidence from the spot, the police said, adding further action was being taken.

"The crude bomb was hurled due to personal enmity of two youths in Katra locality. It is a coincidence that the incident occurred near the house of one of the advocates of Atiq Ahmad, who resides in the locality," the SHO claimed.

Atiq-Ashraf Killed By Three Sharpshooters Posing As Reporters

Atiq and Ashraf were killed by three assailants, who posed as mediapersons, while the gangsters were being taken for medical checkups at Prayagraj medical college. The killers, identified as Arun Maurya, Sunny Singh and Lavlesh Tiwari, "wanted to become gangsters" and hatched a plot to kill Atiq, sources said earlier. The police said they were in the process of ascertaining if someone else was also involved in the plan to kill Atiq and Ashraf. All three youths were arrested by the police at the scene of the shooting.

Multiple Bullets Fired At Atiq, Ashraf

Atiq was shot at least eight times, with bullet injuries found in his head, neck and chest, according to preliminary results of an autopsy conducted on his body after his sensational murder caught on camera outside a hospital in Prayagraj on April 15.

Sources said on Monday three bullets pierced the body of Ashraf, Atiq`s brother, during the shootout that took outside the hospital where the police had taken them for a routine medical check-up. The gangster siblings collapsed on the spot after being shot from near-point-blank range.

According to sources, the initial post-mortem report said Atiq was shot 8 times while Ashraf took 5 bullets. "Of the eight bullets that Atiq took, one hit his head, one his neck, one each on his chest, stomach and waist," sources said. Both Atiq and Ashraf were buried on April 16 at the Kasari Masari burial ground in Prayagraj.

According to the initial post-mortem report, Ashraf was shot in his neck, back and waist, with the bullets piercing his body. The Uttar Pradesh government ordered a judicial probe in the wake of the killings. Uttar Pradesh Police also announced the formation of two special investigating teams (SITs) to probe the killings.