'Unfortunate that Atiq-Ashraf murder happened in police presence'

CHANDIGARH: After the mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead in Prayagraj, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Saturday said that it is unfortunate that such a murder happened in the presence of the police.

The mafia-turned-politician and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were killed last week while being taken for a medical examination in Prayagraj.

Atiq Ahmed was accused in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005, as well as in the killing of Umesh Pal, a key witness in the BSP leader's murder, in February this year.

Talking about the investigation going on in the case, Chautala said, "The judicial inquiry into the Atiq-Ashraf murder case is going on. It is unfortunate that such a murder happened in the presence of the police."

Chautala also said that if this would have happened in Haryana, he would have talked to the Director general of police and ordered an inquiry.

"This is undoubtedly a matter of investigation. If Had Haryana been a state, I would have definitely asked the DGP for an inquiry. Yogi Adityanath has also ordered an inquiry into this," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, the Judicial committee constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government visited Prayagraj while the Special Investigation Team recreated the crime scene where gangsters Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead on April 15 while being taken to a hospital for a medical checkup.

Three friends of Lovelesh Tiwari, the main accused in the sensational killing of gangster turned politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed, were detained by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in Uttar Pradesh's Banda.

"The trio were caught at Banda railway station," officials said. The SIT team has also reached Hamirpur and Kasganj to conduct the further probe, they added.