Sister moves SC for independent probe into Atiq, Ashraf’s killings

The sister of slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court to seek a commission chaired by a retired apex court judge to probe their “custodial” and “extra judicial deaths”.

Atiq Ahmad (60) and his brother Ashraf were shot dead from close range by three men posing as journalists at a media interaction when the police were escorting them to a medical college in Prayagraj in April.

Also read: Atiq, brother buried in Prayagraj; shooters sent to 14-day judicial custody

In her petition, Aisha Noori has also sought a comprehensive inquiry by an independent agency into the “campaign of encounter killings, arrests and harassment” targeting her family allegedly being carried out by the Uttar Pradesh government.

“The petitioner, who has lost her brothers and nephew in state-sponsored killings, is constrained to approach this court through the instant writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, seeking a comprehensive inquiry by a committee headed by a retired judge of this court or in the alternative by an independent agency into a campaign of extra-judicial killings carried out by the respondents,” the plea said.

“The respondents-police authorities are enjoying full support of the Uttar Pradesh government which appears to have granted them complete impunity to kill, arraign, arrest and harass members of the petitioner’s family as part of a vendetta,” it alleged.

Sister’s desperation

It claimed that in order to “silence” the members of the petitioner’s family, the state is “roping them one by one in false cases”.

Aisha Noori argued it was essential that an independent agency carried out an investigation which can “evaluate the role played by high-level state agents who have planned and orchestrated the campaign targeting the petitioner’s family”.

The top court is seized of a separate plea filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari seeking an independent probe into the killings of Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf that was caught on live television.

While hearing Tiwari’s plea on April 28, the apex court had questioned the Uttar Pradesh government as to why Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf were paraded before the media while being taken to a hospital.

The counsel appearing for Uttar Pradesh had told the top court that the state government was probing the incident.

Tiwari has also demanded an inquiry into the 183 “encounters” that have taken place in Uttar Pradesh since 2017.

(With agency inputs)