In a crime as sensational as that of Umesh Pal’s murder on February 24, assailants gunned down mafia don-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf on April 15 in Prayagraj, tearing to shreds the Uttar Pradesh government’s tall claims on law and order.
On April 13, Atiq’s son Asad and his accomplice Ghulam were killed in a police encounter in Jhansi for their alleged involvement in Umesh’s killing.
Atiq and Ashraf, both in handcuffs, were killed in a dramatic and audacious manner at a time when the election process for urban local bodies is under way.
The Nagar Palika Parishad and Nagar Panchayat polls are being held after a gap of six years and the BJP is said to be unsure of its performance in comparison with the mayoral polls, in which it won 14 of the 16 posts.
The BJP had 70 Nagar Palika chairpersons in 2017 but that wasn’t a clean sweep as the Samajwadi Party won 45 seats and the Bahujan Samaj Party 29. In Nagar Panchayats, the BJP won 100 seats but the SP (83), the BSP (45) and the Congress (17) together accounted for more seats.
While it holds sway in cities, the saffron party has been trying to make inroads in smaller towns using its party machinery to reach out to people. Opposition parties are avoiding falling into the trap of communal politics; they are focusing on the caste factor, especially after a strong demand for caste census.
Different theories are being floated about why the three assailants shot the brothers. Atiq was going to squeal on some politicians and bureaucrats who may now feel relieved that he has been silenced, goes one theory. Another interprets the repeated raising of the “Jai Shri Ram” slogan as indicative of attempts to give the murders a communal colour for the benefit of the ruling party.
For chief minister Adityanath, in a perverse sort of way, the sordid episode will be a shot in the arm and strengthen his image as someone going after criminals belonging to the minority community. The visual media is already building the narrative that the people of UP are happy with the killing of Atiq Ahmed.
Also read: Did Atiq Ahmed’s Killing See the Invention of a New Method of ‘Encounter’?
The Prayagraj developments will likely play to the advantage of the “Bulldozer Baba’ in not only the civic elections but also in the run up to the parliamentary elections next year, though they may negatively affect Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s outreach plans for Pasmanda Muslims.
In a statement, the Pasmanda Muslim Mahaj called the incident unfortunate and said that the constitution should have been followed. It, however, appealed for patience as “Eid is around the corner”. In a word of caution it said: “If law and order is disturbed, we will be the only ones who will suffer.” This reflects their growing insecurity.
There’s no denying that Atiq was notorious and not many will have sympathy with the slain don. But the controversial manner in which he was shot has been questioned and widely criticised. The opposition parties also say that elimination methods such as these point to the absence of rule of law in the state.
Atiq was brought from Bareilly jail to Prayagraj under heavy security. He and his brother were being taken for medical examination by about 17 policemen around 10pm. Shockingly, there was zero police response when the killers posing as mediapersons first shot Atiq in the head. Only after Ashraf, too, was shot did the cops swing into action.
Five policemen, including Ashwani Kumar Singh, the police station in charge of Shahganj, have been suspended; the crime was committed in Singh’s jurisdiction. What remains to be seen is if bulldozers will be deployed against Sunny, Lovlesh and Arun, the three assailants, who were first put in judicial custody but are now in police remand. This happened after legal experts expressed shock that police remand was not taken and the three shooters were sent directly to judicial custody.
After all, the Adityanath government, which keeps tom-tomming its zero-tolerance policy towards crime and criminals, has to demonstrate that the policy is not meant for selective use.
A high-powered inquiry may not find any lapse on the part of the police as had happened in the killing of Kanpur history-sheeter Vikas Dubey a few years ago. In the case of Dubey, the car bringing him from Madhya Pradesh to Kanpur mysteriously overturned on the way and the gangster was shot when he tried to escape. The inquiry led by a retired Supreme Court judge gave a clean chit to the police personnel.
Atul Chandra is a former resident editor of The Times of India, Lucknow, and an author.
This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire & Galileo Ideas – and has been republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.
