Foreign-made pistol used in Atique Ahmed killing; police tracing weapon's origin

A Turkey-made semi-automatic pistol was allegedly used by the assailants who gunned down gangster-turned-politician Atique Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed on April 15 while they were being escorted to a hospital for a medical checkup in Prayagraj, sources claim. While firearms used in the murder had been seized by the police in the immediate aftermath of the shootout, there has been no official statement on the weapons, their make or origin. The source of the weapons is still being traced.

In the aftermath of the killing of the two jailed brothers, section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed in several districts of the state following a late-night meeting held at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s residence. UP Principal Secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad, UP Director General of Police (DGP) RK Vishwakarma, and other senior officials attended the meeting.

UP police conducted a flag march in Lucknow's Husainabad and Mathura in order to ensure law and order. Officials stated that security has been beefed up in various districts after the incident. The police also conducted a patrol in Ayodhya, according to the officials.

60-year-old gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother, flanked by police officials, were interacting with reporters when assailants, disguised as journalists, shot the two in the head in the late hours of Saturday. The men, who were handcuffed, collapsed right there and succumbed to bullets. The shooters had disguised themsleves as mediapersons and even carried fake cameras and equipment.

Atique Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed had more than 100 and 57 FIRs respectively against their names, according to a police official