Atiq Ahmed killing: Five cops suspended for negligence

Shahganj police station in-charge Ashwani Kumar Singh was among those suspended. The remaining are a sub-inspector and three constables.

Prayagraj (UP):Five police personnel were suspended on Wednesday for negligence in connection with the killing of mafia-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, a senior officer said here on Wednesday. Shahganj police station in-charge Ashwani Kumar Singh was among those suspended. The remaining are a sub-inspector and three constables.

Ahmad and Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists in the middle of a media interaction on Saturday night when policemen were escorting them to a hospital in the Shahganj police station area in Prayagraj for a checkup. The brothers were in handcuffs when they were killed in full view of camera crews.

The senior police officer said the five personnel were suspended after a special investigation team (SIT) charged them with negligence in discharging their duties. Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma had constituted the three-member SIT headed by Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Satish Chandra to probe the killings.

Meanwhile, the three persons accused of killing Atiq and his brother were sent to police custody for four days by the court of chief judicial magistrate here on Wednesday. Lovelesh Tiwari, Mohit and Arun Kumar Maurya were produced in the court amid tight security on Wednesday morning as the police sought a seven-day remand. Passing the order later, the court sent them to police custody for four days -- from 2 pm on Wednesday till 5 pm on April 23, district government advocate Gulab Chandra Agrahari said.

The three have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and under the Arms Act was registered against the three alleged assailants of Atiq and Ashraf at Shahganj police station. On Sunday, these three accused were produced before the remand magistrate who sent them to judicial custody for 14 days. They were initially lodged in Naini jail but were shifted to Pratapgarh prison citing security reasons.