Terming the sensational killing of UP gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf on camera in the presence of cops in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj town on Saturday night as reflective of a ''total collapse'' of law and order in the state, the opposition leaders demanded the resignation of chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
Two days after the killing of his son Asad Ahmed in an alleged encounter with the police in Jhansi district, Atiq, who faced over 100 criminal cases, was gunned down along with his brother Ashraf in front of scores of cops in Prayagraj.
Atiq and Ashraf were shot at from point-blank range by three motorbike-borne assailants at around 10:30 in the night while they were speaking to media persons on their way to the Motilal Nehru hospital for a routine medical check-up before being transferred to the jail. The assailants had managed to go close to the duo in the garb of scribes and even carried mics.
According to police sources here, one of the assailants brought out his pistol soon after Atiq started speaking to the media and shot him in the head from point-blank range. Barely seconds later, two other assailants also opened fire at the duo, killing them on the spot. A cop also sustained injuries and was admitted to the hospital. One of the assailants was also hit by a bullet fired by his accomplice, sources said.
The three assailants, identified as Luvlesh Tewari, a resident of Banda district; Sunny, who hailed from Hamirpur district; and Arun Maurya, a resident of Kasganj district, were arrested by the police.
As the killings of Atiq and Ashraf triggered sharp reactions from the opposition leaders, the state government announced the setting up of a three-member judicial commission to probe the killings. ''Yogi Adityanath must resign,'' said a senior leader of the Samajwadi Party (SP), who attributed the killings to what he alleged was the ''gun culture'' prevailing in the state.
Tensions prevailed in Mutthiganj, Kydganj, Dhoomanganj, Khuldabad Kareli and other localities in the walled city areas in Prayagraj following the killings and security personnel were deployed in strength as a precautionary measure.
While the BJP leaders and UP ministers hailed the killings, though in a veiled manner, the opposition leaders sharply condemned the incident and said that it was reflective of total collapse of law and order in UP.
''One has to account for his sins and virtues in one's life only,'' UP minister Swatantra Dev Singh said in a message on his Twitter account. The tweet was later deleted after it triggered a backlash. At least one other minister and a BJP MLA also hailed the killings.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav slammed the UP government over the killings and said that non one was safe in this regime. ''One can imagine the safety of the ordinary people when someone can be killed in the presence of so many cops,'' Akhilesh said. BSP supremo Mayawati also condemned the killings and demanded a high level probe into the same.
The UP government set up a three-member committee to be headed by Justice (retd) Arun Kumar Tripathi, district judge (retd) B.K.Soni and former IPS officer Subesh Singh to probe the incident. The Committee would submit its report in two month.
AIMIM president Asauddin Owaisi demanded an explanation from prime minister Narendra Modi over the killings and sought a supreme court-monitored probe.SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav apprehended that the remaining sons of Atiq could also be killed in the near future.
Barely three days back Atiq's son Asad Ahemd, who was wanted in connection with the killing of Umesh Pal, a key witness in the murder of an MLA, in Prayagraj, was gunned down in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh police in Jhansi district, about 300 kilometres from here. An accomplice of Asad, identified as Ghulam, was also killed in the encounter, police officials here said. Both Asad and Ghulam carried a reward of Rs five lakh on their heads.