Atiq Ahmed shooting: 'Crime has reached its peak in UP,' Akhilesh Yadav slams Yogi Adityanath government

Akhilesh Yadav took to Twitter only minutes after the deaths of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed, who were killed while being taken to a hospital in Pragyraj. Atiq Ahmed was a main suspect in the murder of lawyer Umesh Pal.

In a tweet, the President of Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav, tweeted, "Crime has reached its peak in UP and the morale of the 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," he added further. 

Previously, Akhilesh Yadav blamed the BJP for fabricating the encounter between UP Ploice and Atiq Ahmed's son, Asad Ahmed. 

Atiq and Ashraf were preparing to give a press conference when they were murdered on live television. As Atiq and Ashraf crumpled to the ground, sounds of random gunfire could be heard.

Primary sources indicate that the three assailants have been identified and apprehended.

Saturday afternoon, the Uttar Pradesh Police in Dhoomanganj questioned Atiq and Ashraf.

Also, READ: Who was Atiq Ahmed, mafia-turned-politician gunned down in UP?

उप्र में अपराध की पराकाष्ठा हो गयी है और अपराधियों के हौसले बुलंद है। जब पुलिस के सुरक्षा घेरे के बीच सरेआम गोलीबारी करके किसीकी हत्या की जा सकती है तो आम जनता की सुरक्षा का क्या। इससे जनता के बीच भय का वातावरण बन रहा है, ऐसा लगता है कुछ लोग जानबूझकर ऐसा वातावरण बना रहे हैं। — Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) April 15, 2023

After killing Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf, the perpetrators were caught by the police. Atiq and Ashraf were cornered by police when shots rang out. The rounds were fired in rapid succession from quite close range.

Police said that they had not yet questioned the alleged assailants and would not comment until they had.