SC to hear on July 3 plea seeking independent probe into killing of Atiq Ahmad & his brother

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on July 3 a plea seeking an independent probe into the killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf, who were shot dead in police custody by three men posing as journalists in Prayagraj in April.

According to the July 3 cause list uploaded on the apex court website, a bench of Justices S R Bhat and Aravind Kumar will hear the petition filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, who has also sought an inquiry into the 183 police encounters that have taken place in Uttar Pradesh since 2017.

While hearing the matter on April 28, the top court had questioned the Uttar Pradesh government why Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf, a former MLA, were paraded before media while being taken to a hospital for a medical checkup in police custody. The two were shot at point blank range and died instantaneously as the three assailants rained bullets.

It had also asked the Uttar Pradesh government how the killers got the knowledge about the two being taken to hospital.

The counsel appearing for Uttar Pradesh had told the top court the state government has constituted a three-member commission of inquiry to probe the incident that was shown live on national television. A special investigation team (SIT) of Uttar Pradesh police is also investigating the case, the counsel had said.

The top court had directed the state government to submit a status report on the incident and its aftermath.

“The affidavit shall also disclose the steps taken with respect to the incident which had occurred immediately prior to the one in question and also disclose the follow up steps pursuant to Justice Dr B S Chauhan’s Commission Report,” the apex court had said in its April 28 order, while referring to the killing of gangster Vikas Dubey in a police encounter.

Dubey and his men had ambushed and killed eight policemen at his native Bikru village in Kanpur district in July 2020. He was arrested in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and was being brought back in UP police custody when he allegedly tried to escape and was shot dead. Doubts were raised about the genuineness of the police encounter.

Former apex court judge Justice Chauhan headed the commission that probed the encounter killing of Vikas Dubey in 2020.

In his plea, Tiwari has sought constitution of an independent expert committee to probe the killing of Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf.