On Saturday, April 15, Atiq Ahmed, the infamous Uttar Pradesh gangster with at least 100 criminal charges on him, and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were shot dead in front of the camera while they were on their way for a medical examination in Prayagraj.
Gangster Atiq Ahmed & his brother Ashraf Ahmed shot dead in Prayagraj pic.twitter.com/8GreiIxk82
— SUPERMAN (@i_m_manofsteel) April 15, 2023
Following his murder, a nineteen-year-old statement made by the mafia don surfaced in the media, in which he predicted that he would not die in the usual manner, either the police would run into him or he would be murdered. “Encounter hoga. Ya police maari, ya koi apni biradari ka sirfira. Sadak ke kinare pade milab,” (I will be killed either in an encounter by police or by my fellow criminals) he stated way back in 2004.
The gangster-turned-politician had won five assembly elections from Allahabad West constituency. During his time in politics, he regularly held informal meetings with local journalists where he would speak to them candidly. In one of these meetings with selected reporters, he made a prediction about his death when asked how he saw his demise given that he is also a criminal.
“Sab ko pata hota hai anjaam kya hona hai. Kab tak taala ja sakta hai, yeh sab (contesting election) iski hi jaddojahad hai,” (As criminals, we all know what awaits us. Every day is a struggle to escape it and postpone the inevitable) he had foresighted.
When it was pointed out that he was contesting an election from Phulpur parliamentary seat from where India’s first prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru had formerly served as a representative, he had responded, “Pandit ji ki tarah hum Naini Jail me bhi rahe hain. Woh kitab likhe wahan, humein apni history-sheet ki wajah se jana pada tha,” (I have also stayed in Naini jail, like Nehru. There, he penned books and I went because of my history-sheet).
Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf Ahmed were murdered while talking to the media on their way to the hospital. The police arrested three individuals from the spot who surrendered after the killings. However, the state administration suspended several officers due to the incident. Atiq Ahmed apparently once murdered a family member of one of the three assailants.
