Atiq Ahmed Cause of Death

Atiq Ahmed was an Indian criminal and gang leader who became a politician and member of parliament. He was shot dead live on tv during an interview with journalists while in handcuffs. He was 60 years old.

He was being escorted by the police with his brother, Ashraf when a gunman pulled closer to his head and shot him. The incident happened in Prayagraj, also known as Allahabad.

Three men who posed as journalists surrendered after the shots were fired and were taken into custody. They were part of the journalists who were questioning them after they were being escorted for medical checkups.

One of the gunmen who were arrested was constantly chanting “Jai Shri Ram” which means Hail Lord Ram; a slogan “that has become a battle cry for Hindu nationalists in their campaign against Muslims,” sources report.

According to a police officer name Ramit Sharma, the gunmen were very strategic and posed as media personalities in order to get very close to Ahmed and his brother for easy execution.

Two other people; a police officer and a real journalist, were also reported injured.

An Indian politician shared that it is alarming to see someone being killed openly in public whiles security forces are actively around.

“When someone can be killed by firing openly amidst the security cordon of the police, then what about the safety of the general public. Due to this, an atmosphere of fear is being created among the public; it seems that some people are deliberately creating such an atmosphere,” he wrote in a social media post.

Ahmed was a well-known hardened criminal and gang leader who rose up the ranks to become a politician. He was known for several criminal charges including kidnapping, murder, and extortion.

In 2019, he was convicted and jailed for kidnapping. He first made it on the police radar after he was charged with murder in 1979. He became a strong influence in the western part of Allahabad city in 1989.

That same year, he won his first election as an independent candidate and became a state lawmaker. He also won the seat for two terms continuously and became a lawmaker from the Samajwadi Party (SP).

He became a member of parliament in 2004 for SP while under numerous criminal charges. In the early 2010s, he contested for re-election multiple times but lost tragically.

He was arrested in 2019 and was ordered to be moved in a jail located in Gujarat State after it was reported that he had planned several attacks on a businessman while he was in prison awaiting other criminal charges.

Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were both brought back in Prayagraj for question in March 2023 to appear in court for their sentencing relating to kidnapping to be announced.

Cases against them also including the murder of Umesh Pal, a pivotal witness in the 2005 murder of Raju Pal, a lawmaker who was a member of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Raju Pal was murdered after he defeated Ashraf in the 2004 assembly elections in Ahmed’s political stronghold. Umesh Pal was also killed in February 2004 after several people opened fire on him.