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PRAYAGRAJ/LUCKNOW: A desire to be “famous” drove the three assailants of jailed UP gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf to audaciously cut through a security cordon and shoot them at point-blank range, police Sunday quoted the accused as saying during their initial interrogation.
The siblings were killed late Saturday on live TV outside the Prayagraj hospital, where they had been brought for a medical examination.
As speculation raged about conspiracy theories, sources said Luvlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda, Arun Kumar Maurya (18) of Kasganj and Mohit Singh (23), alias Shani, of Hamirpur had each served time for various crimes and the possibility of the trio being hired for a hit job can’t be ruled out.
Meanwhile, the autopsy report has stated Atiq took eight bullets and his sibling six. The killers used Turkish Zigana F semi-automatic pistols that hold 15 rounds of 9mm bullets.
Luvlesh and Mohit apparently met in 2021 when they were together in Chitrakoot jail.
“We continue to interrogate them to confirm if they killed Atiq and Ashraf to establish themselves in the world of crime, settle scores or at someone else’s behest,” an official said, hours before the trio was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.
Luvlesh has three previous cases against his name, including one for harassing women. Mohit has 14 cases lodged against him in Hamirpur district and is known to be a member of the notorious Sundar Bhati gang. Arun, who has a previous murder case pending against him, is linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Luvlesh trained his gun at Atiq when the handcuffed ex-MLA and MP was responding to questions from reporters outside Colvin Hospital. Mohit fired at Ashraf. The autopsy report says Atiq took eight bullets and his sibling six. The killers used Turkish Zigana F semi-automatic pistols that hold 15 rounds of 9mm bullets.
The trio confessed to tracking Atiq and Ashraf since the time they were remanded in police custody after being brought from Sabarmati on April 12.
Investigators said the killers heard Atiq’s lawyer on TV that the ex-MLA hadn’t been keeping well and would be taken to Colvin Hospital Saturday for a medical check-up. “The moment we received an update about their visit to the hospital, we planned to masquerade as local journalists, blend with the media team there and shoot them at the first opportunity,” the FIR registered at Shahganj police station quotes the trio as saying.
Another official said Luvlesh, Arun and Mohit may have been after Atiq and Ashraf since the brothers were taken to Dhoomanganj for recovery of weapons.
Dhoomanganj SHO Rajesh Kumar Maurya said the arrested men had been charged with IPC Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder), besides other offences under the Arms Act and CLA Act.
A constable identified as Maan Singh suffered an injury to his right hand in the firing. According to the FIR, a bullet fired by his fellow assailant struck Luvlesh’s hand as well. He was taken to SRN hospital on Sunday for treatment.
Besides the Turkish weapons used by the killers, an old video camera along with a mike and a bike were found at the crime scene. Investigators are scanning CCTV footage from the hospital area for more clues to the double murder.
The siblings were killed late Saturday on live TV outside the Prayagraj hospital, where they had been brought for a medical examination.
As speculation raged about conspiracy theories, sources said Luvlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda, Arun Kumar Maurya (18) of Kasganj and Mohit Singh (23), alias Shani, of Hamirpur had each served time for various crimes and the possibility of the trio being hired for a hit job can’t be ruled out.
Meanwhile, the autopsy report has stated Atiq took eight bullets and his sibling six. The killers used Turkish Zigana F semi-automatic pistols that hold 15 rounds of 9mm bullets.
Luvlesh and Mohit apparently met in 2021 when they were together in Chitrakoot jail.
“We continue to interrogate them to confirm if they killed Atiq and Ashraf to establish themselves in the world of crime, settle scores or at someone else’s behest,” an official said, hours before the trio was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.
Luvlesh has three previous cases against his name, including one for harassing women. Mohit has 14 cases lodged against him in Hamirpur district and is known to be a member of the notorious Sundar Bhati gang. Arun, who has a previous murder case pending against him, is linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Luvlesh trained his gun at Atiq when the handcuffed ex-MLA and MP was responding to questions from reporters outside Colvin Hospital. Mohit fired at Ashraf. The autopsy report says Atiq took eight bullets and his sibling six. The killers used Turkish Zigana F semi-automatic pistols that hold 15 rounds of 9mm bullets.
The trio confessed to tracking Atiq and Ashraf since the time they were remanded in police custody after being brought from Sabarmati on April 12.
Investigators said the killers heard Atiq’s lawyer on TV that the ex-MLA hadn’t been keeping well and would be taken to Colvin Hospital Saturday for a medical check-up. “The moment we received an update about their visit to the hospital, we planned to masquerade as local journalists, blend with the media team there and shoot them at the first opportunity,” the FIR registered at Shahganj police station quotes the trio as saying.
Another official said Luvlesh, Arun and Mohit may have been after Atiq and Ashraf since the brothers were taken to Dhoomanganj for recovery of weapons.
Dhoomanganj SHO Rajesh Kumar Maurya said the arrested men had been charged with IPC Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder), besides other offences under the Arms Act and CLA Act.
A constable identified as Maan Singh suffered an injury to his right hand in the firing. According to the FIR, a bullet fired by his fellow assailant struck Luvlesh’s hand as well. He was taken to SRN hospital on Sunday for treatment.
Besides the Turkish weapons used by the killers, an old video camera along with a mike and a bike were found at the crime scene. Investigators are scanning CCTV footage from the hospital area for more clues to the double murder.
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