ISLAMABAD 16 April (Online): A former Indian lawmaker convicted of kidnapping and facing murder and assault charges was shot dead along with his brother in a dramatic attack that was caught live on TV in northern India, officials said Sunday. <\/p>\n
Atiq Ahmad and his brother, Ashraf Ahmad, were under police escort on their way to a medical checkup at a hospital on Saturday night when three men posing as journalists targeted the two brothers from close range in Prayagraj city in Uttar Pradesh state.<\/p>\n
The men quickly surrendered to the police after the shooting, with at least one of them chanting \u201cJai Shri Ram\u201d or \u201cHail Lord Ram,\u201d a slogan that has become a battle cry for Hindu nationalists in their campaign against Muslims.<\/p>\n
Uttar Pradesh is governed by India\u2019s ruling Hindu-nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party. <\/p>\n
Police officer Ramit Sharma said the three assailants came on motorcycles posing as journalists. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey managed to reach close to Atiq and his brother on the pretext of recording a byte and fired at them from close range. Both sustained bullet injuries on the head,” he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all happened in seconds,” Sharma said.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Atiq Ahmad’s teenage son and another man, who had both been blamed for a recent murder, were killed by police in what was described as a shootout.<\/p>\n
Atiq Ahmad, 60, was jailed in 2019 after he was convicted of kidnapping. He was a local lawmaker four times and was also elected to India’s parliament in 2004.<\/p>\n
His lawyer, Vijay Mishra, said the incident was shocking as \u201cit is a clear failure of the police in ensuring the safety” of his clients.
\nOpposition parties criticized the killings as a security lapse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD 16 April (Online): A former Indian lawmaker convicted of kidnapping and facing murder and assault charges was shot dead along with his brother in a dramatic attack that was caught live on TV in northern India, officials said Sunday. Atiq Ahmad and his brother, […]<\/p>\n
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