Atiq Ahmed shot dead: How opposition, BJP leaders reacted

A fresh controversy has hit the political world after jailed gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother, Ashraf Ahmed, were shot dead in police custody while being taken for a medical checkup in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. While the opposition raised concerns about the law and order situation and the general public's safety there, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have pushed their own narrative.

• The death of the Ahmed brothers came just a few days after Atiq's son Asad Ahmed and his close associate Ghulam Maksudan were shot dead in an encounter near Jhansi by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UP STF) on Thursday.
• Notably, Ashraf, Atiq, and Asad, among others, were accused in the high-profile murder case of Umesh Pal, who was killed on February 24.

Reacting to the killing of the Ahmed brothers, Samajwadi Party (SP) President and former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav alleged that crime has peaked across the state and the confidence of the "criminals" has surged massively under the incumbent BJP rule. Questioning how Ashraf and Atiq were shot dead while under police security, Yadav raised concerns regarding the safety of the general public, too.

"Crime has reached its peak in Uttar Pradesh and the morale of the criminals is high. When someone can be shot dead by firing openly amid the security cordon of the police, then what about the safety of the general public?" tweeted Yadav in Hindi. He added, "Due to this, an atmosphere of fear is being created among the public."

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, reacted to the incident and said, "HM does not stand for Home Minister but really for Headline Manipulator," apparently referring to Amit Shah. Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) head Jayant Chaudhary took to Twitter and wrote, "Is this possible in a democracy?" Furthermore, the RLD chief also added the "jungle raj" hashtag in his tweet.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) supremo Asaduddin Owaisi alleged that those who were "celebrating the encounter raj are also responsible for this murder." "Atiq and his brother were in police custody. They were handcuffed. JSR (Jai Shree Ram) slogans were also raised. Their killings are an outcome of the failure of UP's law and order," the AIMIM leader claimed in a tweet.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said, "This has become a government of encounter raj and bulldozer raj." "And without the state's patent protection...such an incident in front of the media and the police to actually take place is not possible unless these are elements who are patronaged (sic)," the CPI(M) leader added.

While has been no official statement from the ruling saffron party in Uttar Pradesh, BJP state minister Swatantra Dev Singh took to Twitter and stated in Hindi, "Sin and virtue are accounted for in this lifetime." Immediately after Atiq and Ashraf were shot dead on Saturday, UP CM Yogi Adityanath called for a high-level meeting on Saturday and ordered a probe into the incident.