A five-member judicial commission formed to probe the on-camera killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azim, alias Ashraf, in police custody last year has ruled out negligence on the part of the police or any possibility of any pre-planned conspiracy.
Besides, another two-member commission formed to probe the three encounters of the accused in the Umesh Pal murder case — including Atiq Ahmed’s son Asad and his aide Ghulam — has said retaliatory firing by police was in self-defence.
Both the reports were tabled during the ongoing monsoon session of UP assembly on Thursday.
“Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf were shot dead amid heavy police protection by three small-time criminals while being taken for a medical examination at Motilal Nehru (Colvin) Divisional Hospital in Prayagraj on April 15, 2023. No negligence or laxity was found on the part of the 21 police personnel deployed for their security. The attackers, disguised as media persons among the live coverage crew, launched an unexpected assault. There was no way the police could have averted the attack, given the assailants’ infiltration and the chaotic environment,” the commission’s report stated.
The UP government had formed a five-member judicial commission headed by former chief justice of Allahabad High Court Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale to probe the incident. It also included former chief justice of Jharkhand High Court Justice Virendra Singh, who was the vice-chairman of the commission; retired Justice Arvind Kumar Tripathi–II, retired district judge Brijesh Kumar Soni and retired IPS officer Subesh Kumar Singh.
As per the commission report, live coverage of Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf ensured the assailants were well aware of their movements and no recce was required before committing the crime. “The three assailants — Sunny Singh, Luvlesh Tiwari and Arun Kumar Maurya — were holding a mic while approaching Atiq and Ashraf along with other media persons and suddenly opened fire,” the report stated.
Meanwhile, the other two-member judicial commission chaired by Justice (retd) Rajiv Lochan Mehrotra said in the three encounters of the accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, the police opened fire in self-defence. Retired director general (DG) Vijay Kumar Gupta was also a part of the commission.
“Atiq Ahmed’s aides Arbaz and Vijay Kumar Chowdhary alias Usman were killed in retaliatory firing by police in self-defence in Prayagraj on February 27, 2023, and March 6, 2023, respectively. Similarly, Atiq’s son Asad and his aide Ghulam were killed in retaliatory firing by police in self-defence in Jhansi on April 13, 2023,” the report said.
All the four people killed were prime accused in the sensational killings of lawyer Krishna Kumar Pal alias Umesh Pal and his two gunners in Prayagraj on February 24, 2023.
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