Former Samajwadi Party MP and alleged gangster Atiq Ahmad, 65, and his brother Ashraf, 52, were shot dead at close range in Allahabad on Saturday night as Uttar Pradesh police were escorting them to a hospital for a check-up.
The police have yet to issue a statement on the 10.35pm shooting — in front of at least two dozen armed policemen — at the gate of Motilal Nehru Divisional Hospital that was caught on television camera.
A police source identified the assailants as Luvlesh Tiwari, Sani Kumar and Arun Maurya. They had posed as journalists, sources said.
On Thursday, Atiq’s son Asad Khan and alleged henchman Ghulam Hassan were killed in a police encounter in Jhansi. Their last rites were held earlier in the day.
Atiq and Ashraf lay on the ground with blood spilling out of their heads. The police allowed the media to film the crime scene for 20 minutes before cordoning off the area and taking away the bodies.
The brothers, in jail for five years for the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, were brought to Allahabad three days ago to be produced in court over the murder of lawyer Umesh Pal.
