Atiq-Ashraf Murder: Security Heightened As Cops Bring Shooters To Court, Seek Remand

The three shooters accused in Atiq-Ashraf double murder case were brought to Prayagraj from Pratapgarh this morning for producing in court and seek remand for questioning.

Security has been heightened around the court of chief judicial magistrate in Prayagraj as the police will produce the three accused shooters in the Atiq-Ashraf double murder case today and seek their remand for questioning. The three accused — Mohit alias Sunny (23) of Hamirpur, Lavlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda and Arun Maurya (18) of Kasganj — were brought to Prayagraj this morning from Pratapgarh jail. 

The court area has been converted into a cantonment with heavy police deployment. The initial two layers of security around the court is by the Uttar Pradesh police while the Rapid Action Force (RAF) has been deployed in the inner layer. 

The media is also not being allowed to enter inside at the moment. 

The 60-year old gangster-turned-politician, Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf were handcuffed when they were shot dead by the assailants posing as journalists on Saturday night while police personnel were escorting them to a medical college in Prayagraj for a check-up.

Atiq was named as an accused in the murder of Umesh Pal in February this year. His wife Shaista Parveen and accomplice Guddu Muslim were also named as accused who are absconding. 

An official of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force told reporters that they will be arrested soon. 

"We have limitations but they have a number of means to evade arrest. As far as Guddu Muslim is concerned he is known as Guddu 'bombaaz' and is expert in evading arrest while Praveen remains as 'pardanashin' (in veil). But we will be arresting them soon," said DIG, STF, Anand Dev Tiwari.  

Apart from Ahmad and Ashraf, four others named in the Umesh Pal murder case FIR — Asad, Arbaaz, Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman and Ghulam — have also been killed.

Umesh Pal was a key witness in the 2005 Raju Pal murder case, also in which Ahmed was an accused. 

Umesh was returning after submitting his final statements in the Raju Pal murder case when he was shot dead outside his residence under the limits of Dhoomanganj police station. 

An FIR was lodged under relevant sections of IPC, including 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder), and under the Explosive Substances Act on the basis of a complaint by his wife Jaya Pal on February 25.