NewsRescue
Atiq Ahmed, an Indian mobster and former politician, was shot dead on Saturday night during a live broadcast while he and his brother were being led by police and speaking to media. The murder occurred in Prayagraj, popularly known as Allahabad, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Atiq Ahmed, who had been sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping, and his brother Ashraf were being brought to a hospital for a medical check-up.
Ahmed, who was handcuffed and flanked by officers, was speaking with numerous journalists when he was shot at point-blank range. His sibling was also assassinated. A police officer and a journalist were both injured.
The moment an assailant pulled a gun near Ahmed’s head was captured on tape. After the brothers slumped to the ground, other attackers were spotted shooting several shots at their bodies.
At the site, three individuals were apprehended. According to Ramit Sharma, a police officer, the attackers approached Ahmed by acting as journalists. “It all happened in a matter of seconds,” he claimed.
According to regional government officials reported by Indian media, all of the accused had a criminal background. According to a criminal report obtained by news agencies, the perpetrators told investigators that they planned to kill the Ahmed brothers “to become popular.”
Ahmed was born in 1962 in Prayagraj. According to the media, he was initially charged with murder when he was 17 years old and eventually rose to command a criminal network in Uttar Pradesh. Over the last two decades, he has had over 100 criminal cases filed against him.
Despite his reputation, Ahmed was elected to the Uttar Pradesh state legislature for five consecutive terms between 1989 and 2004, and he served in the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of parliament, from 2004 to 2009.
Ahmed was sentenced to life in jail last month for kidnapping lawyer Umesh Pal in 2006. Pal was a key witness in the 2005 murder of Ahmed’s adversary, lawmaker Raju Pal.
Umesh Pal was assassinated in February. Ahmed and his 19-year-old son Asad were among those arrested in connection with the lawyer’s murder. Asad was slain in a confrontation with police on Thursday.
