“Encounter hoga, ya police maari, ya koi apni biradari ka sirphira. Sadak ke kinare pade milab (There will be an encounter, or the police will kill, or someone from my community (of gangsters). Will be found lying on the roadside) — A 2004 statement of Atiq Ahmed is now an eerie truth as many suspects have emerged in the sensational “murder on camera".
The 60-year-old gangster-politician and his brother Ashraf were shot dead in Prayagraj late on Saturday by three assailants, who posed as journalists. According to their post-mortem report, Atiq received nine bullets and Ashraf received five, injuring critical parts of their bodies and resulting in instant deaths.
Atiq had given the “lying dead on roadside" statement in 2004 while contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh’s Phulpur. Nineteen years later, the remark is back in spotlight as “Godfather" of the three shooters — Lovelesh Tiwari, Arun Maurya and Sunny — is yet to be found.
Turning the situation murkier, a statement of Ashraf Ahmed has also come to the fore. In a conversation with the media 17 days ago, Atiq Ahmed’s brother had claimed that his life is in danger.
On the evening of March 28, when Ashraf had returned to Bareilly jail from Prayagraj, scores of reporters gathered around the police in which he was seated. The media persons asked him if he feels his life is in danger.
Replying to the questions, Ashraf said that a senior officer in Allahabad (Prayagraj) had threatened that he’ll be “dealt with" (nipta diya jaayega) in another two weeks, when he’ll be taken out of the prison again.
Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed's brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, after returning to Bareilly jail alleged that a senior official said that he will be killed within 2 weeks. Both the brothers were awarded life imprisonment by a Prayagraj court. See video#AtiqAhmad pic.twitter.com/Sf44ukLFxT— Kanwardeep singh (@KanwardeepsTOI) March 29, 2023
#WATCH | "While being taken from Prayagraj to Bareilly, he (Ashraf) was taken to Police Line where a Police official told him, "Iss baar bache ho lekin 15 din mein jail se nikaal ke kaam tamam kar denge"…Ashraf didn't reveal name but said that if murdered, a sealed envelope… pic.twitter.com/4CvqLI7Y1S— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 17, 2023
When reporters inquired who had threatened him, Atiq’s brother refused to name the person but said that he’s a “senior officer". He added that he will provide the information about the officer chief minister Yogi Adityanath and the chief justice in a sealed envelope.
Former don-MLA Khalid Azim alias Ashraf had also said during interrogation that he is not involved in the Umesh Pal murder case. “It is all a conspiracy to implicate the entire Ahmed family as Atiq’s wife, Shaista Parveen, is preparing to contest the mayor’s election," he added.
“How can we plot a murder when we both have been in jail for so long? LIU officials are present during our meetings in jail. There are dozens of cameras. In such a situation no conspiracy is possible. Our family is being framed," Ashraf had said.
Ashraf had also said that the chief minister will understand the death threat looming over his head as “Yogi Adityanath himself has several criminal cases". “He can understand my pain. All this is being done to defame the government and implicate my family," the gangster had said.
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