Status: 04/16/2023 2:19 p.m
A convicted ex-MP and his brother have been killed in an attack in India. They were being escorted by the police and giving an interview when three men opened fire at close range.
In India, a convicted former member of parliament and his brother were shot dead by several perpetrators in front of the cameras. Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were on their way to a medical check-up at a hospital in the town of Prayagraj, under police escort, when three men apparently disguised as journalists shot the brothers at close range.
The perpetrators surrendered immediately after the fatal shots were fired. At least one of them shouted the slogan “Jai Shri Ram” (Glory to Lord Rama), a rallying cry used by Hindu nationalists against Muslims.
Both victims belong to India’s Muslim minority, but police did not say whether there was a religious motive behind the deadly attack. The television footage shows the attackers shouting slogans in Hindi.
Attackers arrested immediately after the crime
“The attackers have been arrested and are currently being questioned,” a police official said. According to the police, three perpetrators on motorcycles approached the later victims. They approached Atiq Ahmad and his brother on the pretext of wanting to take a picture. The siblings suffered gunshot wounds to the head. “Everything happened within seconds.”
Videos of the crime on Saturday night spread on social media. It was originally broadcast live on local TV stations as the brothers spoke to media on the way to the hospital.
Investigators at the crime scene in Prayagraj, northern India
Image: REUTERS
Ex-MP and convicted criminal
Ahmad has been in prison since 2019 after being convicted of kidnapping a lawyer. This lawyer, Umesh Pal, testified against Ahmad in a trial involving the killing of an MP in 2005. In February, Pal was also killed. Ahmad’s son – a teenager – and another man, both blamed for Pal’s death, were killed by police on Thursday. It was said that there was a shootout.
Two weeks ago, Ahmad applied to India’s Supreme Court for personal protection. State officials pose an “open, direct and immediate danger” to his life, the media quoted from his reasoning. The court declined to intervene and referred Ahmad’s lawyer to the state court.
Ahmad had mostly Muslim followers
Ahmad has been a four-time member of parliament for the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and was also elected to the Indian parliament in 2004. He was investigated in more than 100 criminal cases. He cultivated a Robin Hood image among his predominantly Muslim constituency and helped poor families financially. But he was also criticized for using his political influence to set up a syndicate active in the real estate market, which was accused of forcible seizure of property and other crimes.
Prayagraj is located in Uttar Pradesh and, like the central state of India, is ruled by the Hindu nationalist BJP. Human rights organizations denounce the fact that people are repeatedly executed extrajudicially in the state.