The assassination of former member of Lok Sabha Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in police custody in Prayagraj on April 15 drew the attention of the Supreme Court, which issued a notice of contempt against the government of Uttar Pradesh.
According to the report by the PTI, the Supreme Court has also requested a status report on 183 “police encounters” that have taken place since 2017.
The study said that since the administration of Yogi Adityanath took office in March 2017, 183 persons have been murdered in many encounters with the police. These deaths were reported by the state police.
According to the report, critics of the chief minister have often asserted that many of the incidents were manufactured.
On Friday, a bench consisting of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Aravind Kumar issued an order to the government of Uttar Pradesh directing them to produce an affidavit within the next six weeks providing information about these encounters, the progress of the investigation, charge sheets filed, and the status of the trial, the statement stated.
“There were anywhere from five to ten persons watching over him (Atiq)…How is it that someone can simply go up and start shooting? What causes this to take place? According to the report, the bench made the observation that “someone is complicit.”
According to the article, the court has also issued a notice to the government of UP on a petition filed by Aisha Noori, the sister of the criminal and politician Ahmed, who is demanding a direction for a complete investigation into the deaths of her brothers.
According to the report, the court denied the plea of PIL petitioner Vishal Tiwari for the establishment of an independent judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the police encounters and the participation of the men in uniform in these encounters. The court said that the state government has already created such a committee.
According to the report, the Supreme Court had already indicated that it would be willing to examine the petitions, including the one that was submitted by Aisha Noori. In her petition, she requested that the “extra-judicial” death of her brothers be investigated by a commission of inquiry convened by a retired judge from the Supreme Court.
On April 15, Ahmed, who was 60 years old, and Ashraf were killed when three individuals pretending to be journalists opened fire on them at point-blank range as they were being escorted by police officers to a medical college for inspection. The shooting occurred in the midst of a media engagement.
The whole incident was broadcast live on national television across the United States.
The government of Uttar Pradesh said in an affidavit that it has submitted to the highest court that it is “leaving no stone unturned in ensuring a thorough, impartial, and timely investigation” into the murders of Ahmed and Ashraf. The statement was made in reference to the investigation into their deaths.
It was stated that the status report that was included in the affidavit deals with the investigation into the incident that occurred on April 15, the steps taken in relation to the deaths of Mohd Asad Khan, son of Ahmed, and Mohd Ghulam on April 13, as well as the measures initiated to implement the recommendations of the Justice B. S. Chauhan Commission, it was further stated.
Justice Chauhan, a former judge on the Supreme Court, presided over the panel that investigated the encounter that resulted in the death of mobster Vikas Dubey in 2020.