During a hearing of a plea seeking an independent inquiry into the encounters that have taken place in Uttar Pradesh since 2017, the Supreme Court asked the Uttar Pradesh government why gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were “paraded” and not taken to hospital in an ambulance.
Why were they paraded to hospital? Supreme Court posted specific questions to UP government on Atiq Ahmed murder
Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists in the middle of a media interaction while police personnel were escorting them to a medical college in Prayagraj for a checkup on April 15.
The Supreme Court on Friday sought a status report on steps taken following the murder of gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother while in police custody and asked why the duo were paraded and not taken to the hospital gate in an ambulance.
During a hearing of a plea filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, who has sought an inquiry into the 183 encounters that have taken place in Uttar Pradesh since 2017, the Supreme Court asked the Uttar Pradesh government why Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf were “paraded”.
READ | Why slain Raju Pal’s wife embraced SP which had ‘sheltered’ Atiq Ahmed
A bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Dipankar Datta then sought a report from the UP government on the police encounter of Ahmad’s son Asad in Jhansi. The bench also asked the UP government what action has been taken on the report of Justice BS Chauhan regarding police functioning after the Vikas Dubey encounter.
During the hearing, the petitioner demanded an independent inquiry under the supervision of a retired judge of the Supreme Court. The UP government said that a judicial commission has been constituted to investigate the matter. However, the petitioner raised questions on the inquiry commission, saying that the role of the government in this is also in doubt.
ALSO READ | Atiq Ahmed ran crime syndicate from jail, used mobile and extorted Rs 80L from builder
The court then granted three weeks’ time to the UP government to file a status report. The government will now through an affidavit explain the circumstances under which Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf were killed and steps taken to inquire into the shooting.
