In India, gunmen disguised as journalists shot dead a former MP and his brother on live TV as they were being handcuffed by police and taken to a hospital. During an interview with journalists in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj on Saturday, the three attackers approached 61-year-old Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf and opened fire, the local police said.
“The attackers have been arrested and are currently being questioned,” a police official said. According to local media reports, one of the gunmen carried a TV camera and another carried a microphone with the logo of a TV station.
The two men were to be taken to a hospital for medical examinations and were accompanied by several police officers. The brothers were involved in India’s criminal underworld. Atiq Ahmed, convicted of kidnapping, has been in prison since 2019. He was also suspected in two counts of murder, Indian news agency ANI reports.
Both victims belong to India’s Muslim minority, but police did not say whether there was a religious motive behind the deadly attack. The television footage shows the attackers shouting slogans in Hindi. Ahmed had previously stated that his life was threatened.
As ANI further reports, security measures were increased after the murder in the state. In Prayagraj, the internet was also shut down, at least temporarily.
Atiq Ahmad was a four-time MP for the state of Uttar Pradesh and was elected to the Indian Parliament in 2004. He faced more than 100 criminal cases, reports the AP news agency. He also cultivated a Robin Hood image among his predominantly Muslim voters and supported many poor families with money. However, he was also criticized for using his political influence to set up a criminal syndicate.
In India, hundreds of politicians from all parties are facing criminal charges, especially many in Uttar Pradesh, where the city of Prayagra is located. Human rights organizations denounce the fact that people are repeatedly executed extrajudicially in the state. The opposition parties have criticized the killings as security flaws and accused the government of governing through fear.
Sources: AFP, ANI and AP news agencies
