Atiq Ahmad killing: 3 assailants shifted to Pratapgarh District Jail from Prayagraj

Lucknow: The three assailants who shot gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were shifted from the Prayagraj Central Jail to the Pratapgarh District Jail on Monday, a senior official said here.

The official said the transfer was done on administrative grounds.

The assailants -- Mohit alias Sunny (23) of Hamirpur, Lavlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda and Arun Maurya (18) of Kasganj -- were arrested soon after the dramatic shootout outside the Prayagraj hospital where policemen were escorting the brothers for a medical check-up Saturday night.

The trio were taken from Prayagraj at 12 noon and reached Pratapgarh at 2.10 pm, officials said.

Ali, the son of Atiq Ahmad, is currently lodged in the Prayagraj Central Jail in Uttar Pradesh.

Jail officials refuted reports in a section of media regarding the health of Ali and said that these reports are "not true" and he is "completely healthy".

According to the reports, Ali has been unwell since hearing the news of his father's killing.

According to the police, the three assailants posted as journalists, carrying video cameras, mike and media identity cards.

While Sunny is a history sheeter and has 14 criminal cases, including that of murder, loot, narcotics transport, attempt to murder, pending against him in Hamirpur, Tiwari faces cases of selling of illicit liquor, manhandling and harassing women in Banda, a police officer said.

Maurya's criminal history is being traced, the official said.

Three firearms -- a country made A-30 pistol (7.62), a made-in-Turkiye nine-mm Girsan pistol and a 9-mm Zigana pistol -- were recovered from them.

An FIR has been registered in this case at Shahganj police station.

The three were sent to 14-day judicial custody by a court in Prayagraj on Sunday.

A three-member judicial commission has been constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to look into the matter and will submit its report within two months.

The commission is headed by Justice (retired) Arvind Kumar Tripathi. Former director general of police Subesh Kumar Singh and former district judge Brijesh Kumar Soni are its members.

Atiq Ahmad and Khalid Azeem alias Ashraf were brought to Prayagraj from Gujarat and Bareilly prisons for interrogation in connection with the killing of Umesh Pal and his two police security guards earlier this year.