Prayagraj (Part 1):

Exactly one year ago today, former parliamentarian and mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead by three assailants while undergoing medical examinations.

A year later, the mystery of the motive for the killing remains unsolved.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to investigate the murder of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf has filed charges against the three attackers who were arrested at the scene of the killing.

Police said the attacker, who is currently lodged in Chitrakoot jail, committed the murder to build his name and reputation in the underworld.

However, many questions about the murders remain unanswered.

The attackers, disguised as media persons, fired at the mafia brothers at close range using advanced firearms at Motilal Nehru Hospital. Video of the shooting quickly went viral on social media platforms.

The three attackers are Lavlesh Tiwari (22) from Banda, Sunny Puran (23) from Hamirpur and Arun Kumar Moh from Kasganj Riya (18), who were arrested on the spot. They claimed they had never met before the murders.

Based on a complaint filed by SHO D humanganj Rajesh Kumar Maurya, an FIR was lodged against the three attackers at Shahganj police station on April 17 under various categories including 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 120 B (conspiracy) , 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (fraud), 467 (forgery), 468 (cheating by forgery) and portions of the Arms Act (3/25/27) and the Criminal Law Amendment Act (7 CLA).

Prayagraj police chief Ramit Sharma formed a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by ADCP, crime branch, Satish Chandra, to investigate the case.

The SIT claimed that the three attackers planned the murder themselves without any help from others.

The SIT had filed charges against the three attackers in June last year. The charge sheet contains 2,056 pages of documents, including 2,000 pages of case diaries, 56 pages of charge sheet, scientific evidence and statements.

According to the chargesheet, Lavlesh Tiwari hails from Banda, Arun Maurya hails from Kasganj and Sunny Singh hails from Hamirpur.

They have criminal records and plan to murder Atiq and Ashraf for fame and money. They killed his rival Tillu Tajpuria using sophisticated firearms supplied to Sunny Singh by Delhi gangster Jitendra Man Gogi .

The SIT has included more than 200 witnesses in the case diary and chargesheet. Witnesses and witnesses are mentioned separately. Witnesses included 21 police officers responsible for Atiq and Ashraf’s security, 11 members of the media and more than 16 hospital staff. The team submitted 70 CCTV footage and video recordings from 15 CCTV cameras as evidence in court.

Although attacks on Atik’s remaining family and gang members continue, they remain on the run. They include his wife Shaista Parveen, sister Ayesha Noori, Ashraf’s wife Zainab Fatima and followers Guddu Islam, Mohd Arman and Mohd Sabir.

A senior police officer in Prayagraj said properties worth billions of rupees have been seized from Atiq, his relatives and associates.

Moreover, several victims of atrocities have come forward since Atiq’s death and fresh cases are being registered against his sons Ali and Umar, who are currently jailed in Naini and Lucknow in separate cases prison.

So far, 11 people have been arrested and jailed in the Umesh Pal murder case.

They are Khan Saulat Hanif, Dr. Ikhlaq, lawyer Vijay Mishra, Arshad Katra, Sadaqat Khan, Rakesh Nana, Qais Ahmad, Shahrukh, Mohd Sajar, Niyaz Ahmad and Mohd Nafees (deceased).

Atik ruled this habitat without resistance for more than four decades, creating a reign of terror not only in Prayagraj but also in neighboring areas.

Atiq led his IS-227 gang and amassed wealth and properties worth hundreds of millions of rupees in many cities in Uttar Pradesh and other states. Police investigation revealed that Atiq, through his associates, had investments in diamond mining, dairy and hotel industries in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Mumbai.

Police officials said Atiq and his gang members would threaten farmers and landowners into transferring properties into their names at prices well below their actual cost.

Often, these properties are purchased in the name of unidentified people who work as laborers or domestic workers.

Two persons named Hublal and Shyam Saroj came forward and handed over documents of properties purchased in their names by Atiq and his associates in recent years.

Shyam Saroj has filed an FIR against three associates of Atiq, whose names came to light recently in the police investigation.

Some of Atik’s former colleagues and friends have turned against his family, filing lawsuits against them.

One of the cases involved a builder named Mohd Muslim, who had been Atiq’s trusted colleague, who filed an FIR against Atiq’s eldest son Omar soon after Atiq’s murder.

Atiq’s second son Ali has also been booked against several extortion cases, carried out by his former associates and gang members.

ACP Varun said the police have remanded Ali and Omar in connection with the murder case of lawyer Umesh Pal and his two guards. The pair will soon be questioned in jail before charges will be filed against them in court.

Meanwhile, the police have announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for the arrest of Ashraf’s wife Zainab. Atiq’s wife Shaista has received a reward of Rs 50,000.

However, police have yet to find any clues about their whereabouts. Aman, Sabir and Gudu Muslim, as well as Atiq’s sister Ayesha Nouri, remain at large.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)