Days after mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed was shot dead by three assailants in Prayagraj, police have made a shocking claim that Atiq Ahmed had planned an attack on himself when he was in the custody of Uttar Pradesh police. It has been said that Atiq Ahmed had chosen his sharpshooter and close aide Guddu Muslim to execute the fake attack on himself.
As per a report in Aaj Tak, police have said that Atiq conspired to get himself attacked as he wanted to avoid an encounter with the police and also make sure that no one else also dares to attack him, because a media coverage of the attack would force the police to increase his security. Moreover, Guddu Muslim had contact with several Purvanchal criminals as well.
According to the police, it was planned as part of the conspiracy that Atiq Ahmed would be attacked when he was being taken from Sabarmati Jail to Prayagraj. The authorities also revealed that Ahmed had planned to escape the attack unscathed and that the plot called for bombs to be hurled all around him. According to the authorities, the primary goal of the assault was to enhance Atiq Ahmed’s government-provided security.
Double-cross in a planned attack?
Following these revelations, the police are probing if the three shooters Arun, Lavlesh, and Sunny who gunned down Aitq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed on April 15 were called by Atiq’s gang, and if it was an attack or a contractual murder. The police suspect that some gang hired the shooters to kill Atiq Ahmed taking advantage of his own plan to get himself attacked. Although the shooters have been repeatedly saying that they carried out the attack on their own and did not receive instructions from anyone else, the police suspect a double-cross.
Atiq had already done it before, plotting a fake attack on himself
It is worth mentioning that in 2002, while in police custody, Atiq Ahmed plotted to have himself attacked while being taken to a district court for a hearing. At that time, a crude bomb was thrown at him, and Atiq Ahmed sustained minor injuries to his head and arm. Later, it turned out that Ahmed himself planned the attack.
Notably, a video of minutes before Ahmed’s killing had gone viral on social media. Then, as seen in the video, Atiq gestured and shook his head before getting out of the car. It is being speculated that Atiq signalled someone, however, no confirmation about the same has been made by the police.
#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Moment when Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were shot dead while interacting with media.
— ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2023
(Warning: Disturbing Visuals) pic.twitter.com/xCmf0kOfcQ
Police investigating call records of Atiq Ahmed’s killers
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has tracked down 4 mobile phone numbers during its inquiry into the shooters who killed Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf. These include Lavlesh Tiwari’s and the other shooter Arun Maurya’s cell phone numbers. The SIT also obtained the call detail records for these numbers. Police are currently determining through CDR who and how frequently the shooters spoke prior to carrying out the murder.
