UP govt forms 3-member judicial committee to probe Atiq, Ashraf Ahmad's killing

According to officials, the three-member panel will have to submit its report in two months to the state government.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday formed a three-member judicial committee to probe the killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf Ahmad. The commission will be headed by Allahabad high court judge (retired) Arvind Kumar Tripathi, and will include two other members - retired judge Brijesh Kumar Soni and former DGP Subesh Kumar Singh.

Police personnel stand guard as security has been beefed up outside Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's residence, after the killing of Atiq Ahmed and his brother in Prayagraj, in Lucknow, Sunday. (PTI)

According to officials, the three-member panel will have to submit its report in two months to the state government. They added that the committee has been formed under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952.

A day after Atiq and his brother Ashraf were shot dead in full media glare by three men posing as journalists in Prayagraj on Saturday night, security has been tightened across Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. Section 144 of CrPc has been imposed in the state and internet services have been suspended in the old Prayagraj area.

Police forces have also been deployed at all major locations in Ayodhya, with a three-tier security system comprising CRPF and local police positioned at the site of the Ram Temple.

The shooting took place around 10 pm while the Ahmad brothers were being taken for a medical examination as a mandatory legal requirement. The three killers - identified as Sunny Singh, Lavlesh Tiwari, and Arun Maurya - who immediately surrendered and were arrested, have been kept in the custody of the police and questioned. They are set to be presented before the magistrate today.

The incident happened just days after Atiq's son Asad Ahmad was killed in an alleged encounter in UP.