Supreme Court directs UP govt. to submit status report on steps taken post killing of Atiq Ahmed, his brother
The Hindu
The Supreme Court on April 28 directed the Uttar Pradesh Government to file a comprehensive affidavit on steps taken to enquire into the murders of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother on April 15.
The Supreme Court on April 28 asked the Uttar Pradesh Police to explain why gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother were “paraded” while being taken for medical examination to a hospital on the day they were shot to death at point-blank range in full view of TV cameras by assailants posing as journalists.
“We have seen the video footage...Why were they not taken to the entrance… Why were they paraded?” a Bench of Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and Dipankar Datta asked senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the State police.
The court further asked how the assassins knew the brothers would be brought to the Motilal Nehru Divisional hospital in Prayagraj on that day.
“Police custody requires them to be brought for medical examination every two days… They (assailants), we learnt, had been coming there three days in a row,” Mr. Rohatgi said.
Mr. Rohatgi said Ahmad, his son, who was killed in a police encounter a couple of days before the fatal shooting, and his family were “embroiled in heinous crimes”.
The State sought to link the murders with the family’s criminal past. Mr. Rohatgi said an Inquiry Commission with two former High Court Chief Justices and another judge has been constituted by the State. A Special Investigation Team has also been formed to probe the murders.
The court directed the State to file a comprehensive affidavit detailing the steps taken by the Uttar Pradesh Government to inquire into the killings of Ahmad, his brother Ashraf, son Asad and an associate a few days apart in mid-April.
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