Atiq Ahmed, a notorious gangster and former lawmaker, and his brother Ashraf were shot and killed on Saturday by three men who had followed them all day while pretending to be journalists with fake identification cards and a camera, according to sources, suggesting a meticulously planned murder.
"Shooters were posing as journalists. As Atiq reached for a check-up, they were surrounded by other journalists and got close to Atiq and his brother. One was having a camera and was posing as a cameraman. While one was roaming with a mike where it was written NCR News. Third was assisting both," police sources said.
The killers, Lovelesh Tiwari, Sunny, and Arun Maurya, confessed to the police that they wanted to kill Atiq Ahmed and gain notoriety in the criminal underworld.
Killers stayed at lodge in Prayagraj
They stayed at a lodge after arriving in Prayagraj on Thursday. The police are interviewing the lodge's manager.
The murderers claim they decided to carry out the attack after learning that the brothers were being held by the police and going to the hospital for a checkup.
They decided that impersonating journalists would allow them to approach Atiq very closely, so they followed him with other journalists all day on Saturday.
Atiq and Ashraf were being escorted inside the Motilal Nehru Divisional Hospital in Prayagraj when the three men reportedly approached them outside at around 10 o'clock at night.
They concealed their weapons and pretended to be part of the media commotion before firing at close range. The first shot was fired by Arun Maurya directly at Atiq's head. The murderers fired over 20 rounds, but the police did not fire even one. Atiq and Ashraf passed away instantly.
According to the police, they were able to recover from the attackers three fake media ID cards, a microphone, and a camera. After the shooting, the attackers turned themselves in to the police and were taken into custody.
