Killing of Gangster Atiq Ahmad: 5 UP Police Officers Suspended Amid Allegations of Negligence

19-04-2023 : The recent killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj has led to the suspension of five police officers for their alleged negligence. These officials, including the station officer of Shahganj police station, were responsible for taking Atiq and his brother Ashraf for a medical checkup on April 15, the night they were killed in full view of camera crews. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the murders questioned the cops on Tuesday.

Atiq and Ashraf were shot dead by three men who had posed as journalists and shot them at point-blank range. The accused, Lovelesh Tiwari, Mohit, and Arun Kumar Maurya, were produced in a Prayagraj court amid tight security on Wednesday and sent to four-day police custody. An FIR was registered against the three alleged assailants at Shahganj police station under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), and the Arms Act.

On April 24, the Supreme Court will hear a plea for an independent probe into the killings. Atiq’s lawyer, Vijay Mishra, stated that a letter written by Atiq Ahmad two weeks before his murder with instructions to send it to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister and the chief justice of India in case of his death is being dispatched to them. Atiq had previously moved the SC for protection, claiming that he and his family had been falsely implicated in the Umesh Pal murder case and he might be killed in a fake encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Police.