Killing of Atiq Ahmad, brother: Five cops suspended for negligence

Five police personnel were suspended on Wednesday for negligence in connection with the killing of mafia-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf, a senior officer said here on Wednesday.

Shahganj police station in-charge Ashwani Kumar Singh was among those suspended. The remaining are a sub-inspector and three constables.

Meanwhile, the three persons accused of killing Atiq and Ashraf were sent to police custody for four days by the court of chief judicial magistrate here on Wednesday.

Lavlesh Tiwari, Sunny and Arun Kumar Maurya were produced in the court amid tight security on Wednesday morning as the police sought a seven-day remand.

Passing the order later, the court sent them to police custody for four days — from 2 pm on Wednesday till 5 pm on April 23, district government advocate Gulab Chandra Agrahari said.

On the other hand, on Wednesday, the Prayagraj police arrested Asad Kalia, the shooter of the Atiq gang. He was carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head. Asad Kalia is said to be the financier of the Atiq gang.

Meanwhile, Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) has made plans to bulldoze the house of Guddu Muslim, the main accused in the Umesh Pal murder case. The PDA had pasted a notice on Guddu’s house saying the construction is illegal.

Guddu Muslim is carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh. It was earlier claimed that his last location was in Karnataka after which the STF team went there from Nashik to nab him. They also started cordoning off the area to make arrests.

Atiq Ahmad (60) and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists in the middle of a media interaction on Saturday night while police personnel were escorting them to a medical college in Prayagraj for a check-up.

An FIR under Indian Penal Code Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and under the Arms Act was registered against the three alleged assailants of Atiq and Ashraf at Shahganj police station.

On Sunday, these three accused were produced before the remand magistrate who sent them to judicial custody for 14 days. They were initially lodged in Naini jail but were shifted to Pratapgarh prison citing security reasons.