Atiq Ahmed was shot dead in Prayagraj today
In a dramatic turn of events, gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were shot dead from close range while they were being escorted by the police to a medical college in Prayagraj today. A senior police officer said three people have been arrested. Atiq Ahmad's son was killed in a police encounter in Jhansi just two days ago.
"There must be a thorough probe on murder of Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf... Strict action will be taken against the murderers," BJP MP Subrat Pathak told news agency ANI.
"When crime reaches its peak... it is the decision of nature," UP minister and BJP leader Suresh Kumar Khanna told ANI.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav condemned the killing and criticised the Yogi Adityanath government over the lack of rule of law.
"Crime has reached its peak in UP and the morale of criminals is high. When someone can be killed by firing openly amidst the security cordon of the police, then what about the safety of the general public? Due to this, an atmosphere of fear is being created among the public; it seems that some people are deliberately creating such an atmosphere," Mr Yadav tweeted in Hindi.
"Atiq and his brother were killed while in police custody and were handcuffed. Slogans of JSR were also raised. Their murder is a perfect example of Yogi's big failure of law and order. Those celebrating encounter-raj are equally responsible for this murder," AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted.
UP Minister Swatantra Dev Singh also tweeted:
Former Jammu and Kashmir top cop Shesh Paul Vaid tweeted the UP Police need to investigate the killings.
"Mafia Don and Gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf killed in an attack in Prayagraj. How deep rooted are their criminal activities that they were brutally shot down while in Police custody and in front of media cameras? Whose criminal secrets were these assailants protecting? Needs serious investigation by UP Police," he said.
Kapil Sibal tweeted:
"Today's incident is a blot on the UP government. Is there a gang war going on? There is no rule of law," Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ghanshyam Tiwari said.