The judicial commission, formed to investigate the murder of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in police custody tabled its report in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on the last day of the monsoon session on Thursday. The prob panel's report ruled out the possibility of "pre-planned conspiracy" or "police negligence".
Chaired by Allahabad High Court Judge (retired) Arvind Kumar Tripathi, the five members commission under Justice Dilip B Bhosale was tasked to probe the sensational murder of the gangster brothers in police custody on April 15, 2023.
"The incident of 15th April, 2023 in which accused Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, who were on police custody remand in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case under Police Station Shahganj, Prayagraj, were shot dead by three unknown assailants, cannot be said to be the result of a pre-planned conspiracy executed by the State Police," the commission in its report concluded giving a clean chit to the police.
"The incident of 15 April, 2023 in which accused Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf were killed by unknown assailants, was not the result of police negligence nor was it possible for them to avoid the incident," the report added.
Commission's recommendation for media coverage
Considering that the three assailants who shot dead Atiq and his brothers posed as journalists, the commission also suggested the media to "observe certain restraints while covering such incident".
No media shall be regulated and controlled by the concerned authorities, particularly in case of any sensational incident, the commission suggested.
"Media shall not be allowed to telecast live any event/incident in such a manner that it gives the plan/information about the movements of the accused/victims as well as the activities of the police in connection with the said incident," the commission suggested.
"Media shall not be briefed or informed about the stages of investigation of any crime such as taking the accused for recovery of incriminating objects," the commission added.
"When an investigation is in progress into a crime of public importance, the media should avoid conducting any talk show which may hamper the ongoing investigation," the commission asserted.
Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, who were already lodged in Gujarat's Sabarmati Jail and Bareilly district jail respectively, were brought to Prayagraj by the police in connection with the murder of Umesh Pal,
a witness to the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal. Umesh Pal was shot dead outside his home in February 2023.
(With PTI inputs)
