Atiq Ahmed’s Killers Seasoned Criminals, Their Families Say Not In Touch

The Uttar Pradesh Police, facing massive flak for the sensational on-camera murder of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in their custody last night, has remained tight-lipped about the incident so far.

Sources say the police swung into action immediately after subduing the three shooters on the spot, and are probing their background and criminal antecedents.

The three attackers, identified by the police as Lovlesh Tewari, Sunny Singh, and Arun Maurya, posed as journalists and shot Ahmed and his brother Ashraf at point-blank range while they were speaking to reporters in Prayagraj. All three have criminal records, sources said. Their families have said they have nothing to do with them.

Lovelesh Tewari was jailed earlier as well. His father told the media that the family has nothing to do with him. Lovelesh visited home at times, and was in Banda five-six days back as well, the father said.

“He is my son. We saw the incident on TV. We are not aware of the actions of Lovelesh nor do we have anything to do with this. He never lived here, and neither was he involved in our family affairs. He did not tell us anything. He came here five to six days ago. We have not been on talking terms with him for years. There is already a case registered against him. He was jailed in that case,” Yagya Tiwari, Lovelesh’s father, said.

“He doesn’t work. He was a drug addict. We have four children. We have nothing to say about this,” Yagya Tiwari added.

Sunny has 14 cases registered against him, and has been on the run since being declared a history-sheeter. His father had died, and he left home after selling off his share of the ancestral property. Sunny hasn’t visited his family, his mother and brother, for over five years now. His brother runs a tea stall.

“He used to wander around and did no work. We live separately and don’t know how he became a criminal. We have no idea about the incident,” Pintu Singh, brother of shooter Sunny Singh, said.

The third shooter, Arun, had left home as a child. His name appeared in connection with the murder of a policeman on a train in 2010, sources said. He worked at a factory in Delhi.

The accused told the police during questioning that they wanted to become notorious criminals, which is why they murdered Atiq, though the police don’t believe their confession yet, sources said. There are gaps in their testimonies, and the police will continue investigating, they said.

Sources say the Yogi Adityanath government has submitted a report to the Home Ministry regarding yesterday’s incident after a high-level meeting between Sanjay Prasad, the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) and the Chief Minister, along with other top officials of the UP Police.