Featured Image Credit: ANI
Topics: World News, News, Politics, Crime, Film and TV
Rhiannon Ingle
A gangster-turned-politician and his brother have been shot dead in India on Saturday (15 April) and the entire incident was broadcasted live on TV.
Atiq Ahmed, a former MP who was serving a life sentence in jail, and his brother, Ashraf Ahmed, were caught in a dramatic turn of events when three men opened fire on the pair.
The two brothers died instantly on the spot.
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The shoot-out took place outside a hospital in Prayagraj, also known as Allahabad, based in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ahmed, an ex-MP who was previously convicted of kidnapping and facing murder and assault charges, was in police custody with his brother at the time of the incident.
The pair were in custody after being connected to the murder of lawyer, Umesh Pal.
Pal was once a key witness in the case of a separate killing the two brothers were also involved with.
As they answered questions from various reporters outside of the hospital, a group of three men arrived out of nowhere and fired more than 20 rounds of bullets at the two men in handcuffs from close range.
Police officer, Ramit Sharma, has since confirmed that the three shooters entered the area posing as journalists.
They were reportedly carrying camera equipment, a microphone with a television network logo on it alongside fake journalist IDs.
Sharma explained: "They managed to reach close to Atiq and his brother on the pretext of recording a bite and fired at them from close range. Both sustained bullet injuries on the head... It all happened in seconds."
The shooting took place on Saturday evening (15 April) and was captured live on TV by multiple broadcasters on the scene at the time.
The three men instantly surrendered after killing the two brothers and handed their weapons over to the police.
They have since been identified as Lavlesh Tiwari, 22, Mohit Puraney, 23, and Arun Kumar Maurya, 18.
In an official report filed over the incident, the assailants were quoted as saying: "We wanted to kill Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf with the aim of completely wiping off the Atiq-Ashraf gang and making a name for ourselves."
Ahmed has been prolific in both the political and criminal world after having first been accused in a murder case way back in 1979.
In a strange turn of events, the late former-MP then went on to win his first election as an independent candidate and became a state lawmaker just 10 years later in 1989.
Throughout his life, Ahmed had over 100 different cases filed against him, including charges of both assault and murder, and was subsequently landed with a life sentence a few years ago in 2019.
The sentencing arose after the former MP was convicted of orchestrating a kidnapping whilst still in prison.