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Despite 2 months of probe, no headway in killings of mafia brothers Atiq & Ashraf
The three assailants -- identified as Lavlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda, Mohit alias Sunny Singh (23) of Hamirpur and Arun Kumar Maurya (18) of Kasganj -- were posing as media persons to make the kill.
LUCKNOW Exactly two months ago on April 15, gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azeen (alias Ashraf) were gunned down by three ‘amateur’ assailants in Prayagraj. And while all the three assailants were captured alive successfully, investigation into the double murder has been moving at a rather slow pace.
The sensational double murder, which was captured on live TV, caught international attention as it took place when the incarcerated mafia brothers were being taken to the district’s Motilal Nehru (Colvin) Divisional Hospital for medical examination.
The three assailants -- identified as Lavlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda, Mohit alias Sunny Singh (23) of Hamirpur and Arun Kumar Maurya (18) of Kasganj -- were posing as media persons to make the kill. After the murder, all three of them surrendered themselves.
According to police, the assailants initially claimed that they killed the mafioso brothers to make their name in the crime world but the sequence of events and circumstances hinted towards a larger conspiracy involved behind the incident. The U.P. Police, which claim to have a ‘zero tolerance policy’ towards crime and criminals, has, so far, not been to unravel the mystery behind the killings, which took place in the presence of armed police personnel.
Unanswered questions
Some of the most obvious questions that were raised after the double murder remain unanswered even after two months. For instance -- Did the three assailants plan the killing single-handedly? Was there any mastermind behind them who hired the three men to execute Atiq and Ashraf? What was the real motive behind the killing? How were the assailants aware of the exact spot where the mafia brothers would be brought? Why did assailants risk shooting the mafia brothers from a close range? Why did the cops on duty not open fire on the assailants in retaliation? How did the assailants arrange high-end sophisticated firearms like two Turkish-made Girsan and Jigana semi-automatic pistols? And how did the three assailants, who hail from three different districts of Uttar Pradesh, come together to execute the killing?
How did the assailants keep touch with each other?
Investigators are yet to reveal how the three assailants kept in touch with each other before killing Atiq and Ashraf. As per police investigation, one of the assailants, Sunny, was not even using a mobile phone at the time of the incident. So, it is only obvious to ask how he contacted the other two assailants -- Lavlesh and Arun.
In yet another surprising ‘gaffe’, SIT officials broke the four SIM cards that were recovered from the accused before they reached Prayagraj. Besides SIM cards, two mobile phones were also found on the accused.
SIT & judicial commission were constituted
Following the double murder, a three-member special investigation team (SIT) -- headed by Prayaraj Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP), Crime, Satish Chandra -- and a three-member supervisory team for the SIT were constituted to investigate the matter.
Besides, a five-member judicial commission -- comprising former chief justice of Allahabad High Court, Dilip Baba Sahab Bhosle; former chief justice of Jharkhand High Court Virendra Singh; retired justice Arvind Kumar Tripathi; retired IPS officer Subesh Kumar; and retired district judge Brajesh Kumar Soni -- was also constituted to probe the incident.
Assailants’ Claim
During initial interrogation, one of the assailants, Sunny, claimed that he and his accomplices procured firearms from the Jitendra Gogi gang of Delhi to kill rival gangster Tillu Tajpuria. He also claimed that the idea of posing as media persons while killing Atiq and Ashraf also came from the Gogi gang, again in the context of killing Tillu Tajpuria.
Sunny further said that he fled with the firearms after Gogi was killed in a shootout at Rohini Court on September 24, 2021. The investigators stated that there are many loopholes in the statements of the three assailants, and therefore, they may be questioned again.
In a bid to unravel the mystery behind the killing and find out the possibility of a mastermind, the accused trio, lodged in the Pratapgarh jail, has been questioned twice by the SIT. The investigating team also recreated the crime scene and recorded the statements of eyewitnesses -- including media persons, medical staff, and cops.
In no hurry, still have a month’s time: Investigators
A senior police official privy to the developments in this case has said that the three assailants have denied the involvement of any other person in the incident. The official, however, added that the investigation is still underway and the SIT is not in a hurry to file the chargesheet in the case.
“The SIT is making further efforts to collect incriminating evidence and will file the chargesheet only after completing the investigation properly,” the official said while admitting that no new facts have emerged about the double murder so far.
Another official said that the investigators are usually provided with 90 days to complete the investigation and file the chargesheet in the court. So, the SIT still has a month’s time to complete its investigation and reach a logical conclusion.
What does the FIR say?
A case was lodged against the three assailants at the Shahganj police station of Prayagraj on April 16. “The FIR was registered under different sections of the Indian Penal Code -- including section 302 (murder) and section 307 (attempt to commit murder) -- as well as under the relevant sections of Arms Act.
As per the FIR, the three assailants revealed that they failed to gauge the security arrangements in place and therefore, could not flee the scene and were arrested. The trio told the interrogators that they were following the brothers along with the media persons since April 11, when the mafia duo was taken on remand. To recall, Atiq and Ashraf were taken into remand to be questioned on their alleged involvement in the killing of lawyer Umesh Pal and his two police guards on February 24.
Umesh Pal’s murder brought Atiq and Ashraf back in focus
The sensational killings of Umesh Pal and his two police guards outside his house in Dhumanganj locality of Prayagraj had brought back focus on incarcerated mafia duo Atiq and Ashraf. Umesh and his two guards were shot dead allegedly by a group of assailants, including Atiq’s 19-year-old son Asad and six others. Of the seven assailants, Guddu Muslim, Sabir and Armaan are still out of police net.
Moreover, Atiq’s wife Shaista Parveen, his sister Ayesha Noori and her two daughters, Ashraf’s wife Zainab, who were also accused of being part of the Umesh Pal murder conspiracy, are also on the run despite a massive manhunt launched to nab them.
Police have announced a reward of ₹50,000 on Shaista Parveen and ₹5 lakh each on Sabir, Guddu Muslim, and Armaan. This trio was among the six assailants who were seen in different video footages of the shootout which surfaced on social media after Umesh Pal’s daylight murder.
Atiq’s sister Ayesha Noori and Ashraf’s wife Zainab are accused of helping the assailants and giving them shelter. However, no police reward has yet been declared on their arrest. So far, police have gunned down four accused in the case -- including Atiq’s son Asad, and one Arbaaz, who was allegedly driving the car of the assailants at the time of incident.
