Atiq Ahmed shot dead: 17 cops suspended after failing to prevent gangster-politician's murder

The Uttar Pradesh police department has suspended 17 cops were responsible for the security of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, who were shot dead in Prayagraj on Saturday night.

The brothers, both jailed in Prayagraj, were in handcuffs when they were killed in full view of camera crews around 10 pm by three gunmen.

The horrifying visuals were circulated widely on social media platforms and television channels. The last rites of Ahmad's son Asad, who was gunned down in a police encounter in Jhansi on April 13, were performed here just hours before the shooting.

A police officer said the three assailants, who were arrested immediately after the incident, had joined the group of mediapersons who were trying to get sound bites from Ahmad and Ashraf.

A policeman was injured in the incident as a bullet hit his arm, the officer said, adding that a journalist was also hurt after he fell during the commotion that followed the shooting.

Video footage showed a man thrusting a gun at Ahmad's head as he talks to reporters and the former Samajwadi Party (SP) MP collapsing. The footage also showed the three assailants firing at the brothers even after they had fallen.

The bullet-riddled bodies of Ahmad and Ashraf were taken away from the spot as tension gripped the area after the sensational killings.

"We are looking into the incident. It is too early to say anything. We are yet to question the arrested men," another police officer said.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has formed a three-member judicial commission to probe the killing of Ahmad and his brother.

Who is Atiq Ahmed?

Atiq Ahmad, 62, who’s syndicate was on the radar of the U.P. government since the February 24, killing of Umesh Pal, the key witness in the 2005 murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal, faced more than 100 criminal cases and was amongst the first U.P. politician booked under the ‘Gangster Act’ in the late 1980s.