Officials said Sunday that a former Indian lawmaker convicted of kidnapping and facing murder and assault charges was shot dead along with his brother in a dramatic attack caught live on TV in northern India.
Atiq Ahmad and his brother, Ashraf Ahmad, were being escorted by police on their way to a medical checkup at a hospital on Saturday night when three men posing as journalists opened fire from close range in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
Following the shooting, the men quickly surrendered to police, with at least one of them chanting “Jai Shri Ram” or “Hail Lord Ram,” a slogan that has become a battle cry for Hindu nationalists in their campaign against Muslims.
The ruling Hindu-nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party governs Uttar Pradesh.
According to Ramit Sharma, a police officer, the three assailants arrived on motorcycles dressed as journalists.
“They got close to Atiq and his brother under the guise of recording a byte and fired at them from close range.” “Both received bullet wounds to the head,” he said.
“It all happened in a matter of seconds,” Sharma said.
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On Thursday, police shot and killed Atiq Ahmad’s teenage son and another man, both of whom had been charged with a recent murder.
Atiq Ahmad, 60, was sentenced to prison in 2019 after being convicted of kidnapping. He served as a local legislator four times and was elected to India’s parliament in 2004.
According to his lawyer, Vijay Mishra, the incident was shocking because “it is a clear failure of the police in ensuring the safety” of his clients.
The killings were condemned by opposition parties as a security lapse.
