NEW DELHI: Noting that “someone is complicit”, the Supreme Court has pulled up the Uttar Pradesh Government over the killing of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in police custody in Prayagraj on April 15.
“There were five to 10 persons guarding him (Atiq)…. How can someone just come and shoot? How does this happen? Someone is complicit,” a Bench led by Justice S Ravindra Bhat said on Friday.
Ahmed (60) and Ashraf (49) were shot dead by three assailants posing as journalists when the two brothers were interacting with the media while being escorted by police personnel to a medical college in Prayagraj for a check-up. The dramatic murders took place hours after the last rites of Ahmed’s son Asad, who along with one of his associates was gunned down in a police encounter in Jhansi on April 13.
The SC issued a notice to the UP Government on a petition by Aisha Noori, sister of the slain gangster-politician, seeking a direction for a comprehensive probe into the killing of her brothers. The Bench directed the government to file a status report in six weeks on 183 “police encounters” that have taken place since 2017, along with status of investigation, chargesheets filed and the stage of trial. Yogi’s detractors have often alleged that many of these encounters were staged.
However, it rejected PIL petitioner Vishal Tiwari’s request for an independent judicial panel to look into the encounters and the role of the state police, saying the state government had already set up such a commission. The government, in a status report, emphasised it had been looking into the security lapses.