![Police personnel escort Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed for a medical examination, in Prayagraj on Thursday. Atiq’s brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf also seen. Police personnel escort Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed for a medical examination, in Prayagraj on Thursday. Atiq’s brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf also seen.](https://i0.wp.com/www.thehindu.com/theme/images/th-online/1x1_spacer.png?w=696&ssl=1)
Police personnel escort Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed for a medical examination, in Prayagraj on Thursday. Atiq’s brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf additionally seen.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed, who was shot lifeless alongside with his brother at point-blank vary, had admitted throughout questioning by police that he had links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence and militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, in accordance to an FIR.
Ahmed and his brother Ashraf had been killed by three males posing as journalists in the center of a media interplay on April 15 evening whereas police personnel had been escorting them to a medical school right here for a checkup.
The three accused — Lavlesh Tiwari, Sunny and Arun Maurya — had been arrested over their alleged position in the crime.
As per an FIR registered on the Shahganj police station, Ahmed admitted to having links with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Police mentioned Ahmed’s assertion was recorded on court docket orders.
“The ISI, using drones, used to drop weapons in Punjab, and someone linked to the ISI used to collect these arms and send some of them to LeT, some to Khalistan separatist organisations, and some weapons like .45 bore pistol, AK-47 and RDX were made available to me, and I used to pay for the same. People belonging to these organisations also used to come to my place. And, information gathered from their conversations suggested that they wanted to cause a major incident in the country,” Ahmed instructed police.
He additionally instructed police that he knew the whereabouts of a few of these folks related with ISI and LeT, whereas his brother knew the main points of others.
The five-time MLA additionally mentioned that the weapons taken from (LeT and ISI) had been used in the homicide of Umesh Pal and two policemen in February this 12 months.
“I know the places where the weapons have been kept. These places do not have house numbers. If you (police) take me and my brother together, we can identify these places,” he mentioned.
Meanwhile, the three males arrested for murdering Ahmed and his brother instructed police that they needed to make a reputation for themselves by eliminating the gang.
The accused instructed police that they needed to make their identify and id in the state by eliminating the gang of Ahmed and Ashraf, and that they may undoubtedly get the profit in future.
They additionally mentioned that they might not escape after the crime because the police in a swift motion bought maintain of them.
“Since the time we got to know about the police custody of Ahmed and Ashraf, we were planning to murder them. So we posed as journalists and when we got the right opportunity, we pulled the trigger and implemented the plan,” one of many accused instructed police.
Ahmed (60) and his brother Ashraf, each jailed in Prayagraj, had been in handcuffs after they had been killed in full view of digital camera crews round 10 p.m. on April 15. The horrifying visuals had been circulated broadly on social media platforms and tv channels. The final rites of Ahmed’s son Asad, who was gunned down in a police encounter in Jhansi on April 13, had been carried out right here simply hours earlier than the taking pictures.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has fashioned a three-member judicial fee to probe the killing of the brothers.