Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf shot dead while speaking to media

New Delhi: Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf Ahmad were killed Saturday while they were being taken for a medical check-up in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj.

Ahmad was killed by three assailants while giving a byte to the media persons, the whole incident has been recorded on camera.

मीडिया के कैमरे के सामने 3 लोगों ने गोली मारी। सबकुछ Live क़ैद है pic.twitter.com/Tr1KfaIgHF

— Abhinav Pandey (@Abhinav_Pan) April 15, 2023

Ahmad's son Asad and his accomplice Ghulam, both wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case, were shot dead in an exchange of fire with the Uttar Pradesh Police near Jhansi on Thursday.

A Prayagraj court on Thursday sent Ahmad and his brother Ashraf to 14-day judicial custody and also allowed five-day police remand in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case.

Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 killing of BSP MLA Raju Pal, and his two police security guards were shot dead outside his home in Prayagraj's Dhoomanganj area on February 24 this year.

The daylight killing on a busy street had raised questions over law and order in Uttar Pradesh and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had vowed in the state assembly that he will "destroy" the mafia in the state.

Ahmad, Ashraf, their family members and others were accused in the Umesh Pal murder case based on a complaint by Jaya Pal. Ahmad is also an accused in the Raju Pal murder case.

For the court hearing on Thursday, Ahmad, the 60-year-old former Samajwadi Party legislator, was brought from Sabarmati jail in Gujarat and Ashraf was brought from Bareilly jail.

This was the second time within a month that Ahmad was brought from the Gujarat jail to Prayagraj via road for a court hearing. On March 28, an MP/MLA court held Ahmad and two others guilty in connection with the kidnapping of Umesh Pal in 2006 and sentenced them to rigorous imprisonment for life.

The FIR in the Umesh Pal murder case was lodged under IPC sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons), 149 (unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 506 (criminal intimidation).