'Young boy Asad whose age was 19...': Kapil Sibal after Atiq Ahmad's killing

Kapil Sibal asked how Atiq Ahmad's son Asad, who was a young boy of 19, could have posed a security threat to the country.

Former Union minister Kapil Sibal on Sunday asked how can Asad Ahmad, the son of gangster Atiq Ahmad, could have posed a security threat to the country that he had to be eliminated in an encounter. "But an individual, Asad, a young boy whose age is 19, how can he threaten the security of the country? If you want to catch him, hit him on the leg, prosecute him. Why do you want to kill him," Kapil Sibal said a day after Asad's father Atiq Ahmad was killed in police custody -- two days after Asad was killed in a police encounter.

Kapil Sibal said Asad Ahmad could have been shot in the leg instead of being killed in an encounter.

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Kapil Sibal's 'young boy' comment drew criticism as BJP's Priti Gandhi said, "When you think about it, the Kapil Sibals of our country are a bigger threat to national security than the Asad Ahmeds!!" Sibal received flak on social media for his 'young boy Asad' comment as social media users questioned how old was LeT terrorist Ajmal Kasab during 26/11.

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Sibal, a former Congress leader and a senior advocate, said the Supreme Court should set the whole process of law on who should be arrested and how long he should be in jail.

Asad Ahmad and his aide, accused in the killing of Umesh Pal who was a key witness in the 2005 murder of BSP leader Raju Pal, were killed on Thursday in an encounter by the UP police special task force. On Saturday, Asad's father gangster Atiq Ahmad and his (Atiq) brother Ashraf were killed in police custody by three assailants.