Gangster Atiq Ahmed received 9 bullets, his brother 5: Autopsy
An autopsy revealed that slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed was shot at least nine times outside a hospital in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, during a Saturday attack on him and his brother Ashraf Ahmed. Meanwhile, five bullets were retrieved from Ashraf's body during the postmortem examination. The incident reportedly occurred while both brothers were speaking to the media.
Why does this story matter?
Atiq and Ashraf were murdered near a Prayagraj medical college days after the former's son Asad Ahmed and his aide Ghulam Maksudan were killed in an encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force near Jhansi on Thursday. Notably, Atiq, Ashraf, and Asad, among others, were accused in the high-profile murder case of Umesh Pal, who was shot dead in Prayagraj on February 24.
What does autopsy report say?
According to the autopsy, Atiq was shot once in the head and eight times in the chest and back. On the other hand, five gunshot injuries were found on Ashraf's body, one on his face and four on his back. The post-mortem, performed by a team of five doctors, was videotaped in order to conduct a thorough investigation into the high-profile case.
Warning: Murder of Atiq Ahmed, his brother captured on camera
Slain duo buried in Prayagraj's Kasari Masari burial ground
Both brothers were buried on Sunday at the Kasari Masari burial ground in Prayagraj. According to ANI, their remains were handed over to their family members prior to the funeral rituals following a post-mortem examination at Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital in Prayagraj.
Police say 3 shooters posed as journalists before attack
The attackers, Sunny Singh, Arun Maurya, and Lovelesh Tewari, were arrested immediately after the shooting on Saturday night and later sent to 14-day judicial custody. The three accused are all from different parts of Uttar Pradesh and have criminal histories. They allegedly opened fire on Atiq and Ashraf as the two were speaking to the media close to a medical college on Saturday.
PIL filed in Supreme Court to investigate murder, past encounters
Reportedly, a public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court (SC) by Advocate Vishal Tiwari, demanding an inquiry into the killing. The petition has sought an SC-supervised probe by retired judges. It also demanded an investigation into 183 encounters that happened in Uttar Pradesh since 2017 by an expert committee under the supervision of retired judges of the apex court.
When CM Yogi Adityanath vowed to destroy mafias
Ahmed, Ashraf, and Asad, among others, were accused in the high-profile murder of Umesh, a key witness to the 2005 murder of Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Raju Pal. Interestingly, on February 25—a day after Umesh was shot dead in Prayagraj—CM Yogi Adityanath, vowed in a heated Assembly session, "Mafiyaon ko mitti me mila denge (will turn mafias into dust)."
Several accused in Umesh murder case killed in encounters
On Thursday, just days before Atiq and Ashraf's killing, his son Asad and his close aide Ghulam Maksudan were shot dead in an encounter near Jhansi. They allegedly shot at officers and were killed in retaliation. Sophisticated foreign-made firearms were retrieved from them. Earlier, two other main suspects in Umesh's February 24 murder case—Arbaaz and Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman—were reportedly killed in police encounters.
