‘Mastermind of Atiq & Ashraf’s Murders Hiding Behind The Curtain’

Suman, a senior journalist based in Lucknow, UP, says that the live-on-TV murders of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf appear to be a scripted drama. Her views:

The murders of Atiq Ahmed and his brother are indeed uncannily strange and surprising. The young, amateur, unknown killers, from small towns in UP, were not using ‘tamanchas’ or ‘kataas’, the desi, country-made guns manufactured in the underground criminal network; they were using expensive, sophisticated, foreign pistols with expensive bullets. They don’t seem to be amateurs at all as the pistol was put on the ‘kanpati’ of Atiq and fired at point-blank range – they behaved like “seasoned assassins” who know their job.

How did they get together and hatch this plan, and execute it with such efficiency and precision, and with such daring, right under the nose of the armed UP police, if they happen to be such small-time criminals, and apparently not connected to each other or any organized mafia or gangsters’ group? Clearly, they were hired by someone – as fully-trained and cold-blooded ‘assassins’!

Surprisingly, except for the two brothers who got killed, nobody seems to have got injured as these killers fired several rounds! Not a single cop got injured, it seems! And why did the entire police force, which was giving security to Atiq, run away from the spot, instead of choosing to protect him, and retaliate against these ‘amateur’ killers? Not a single shot was apparently fired by the police! Despite the cops having run away, the killers said two things: Surrender and Jai Shri Ram! How much more eerie can this seemingly, scripted, script become!

And why were the brothers made to walk, surrounded by TV cameras and media in such close proximity, at 10.30 pm in the night? Why were they brought in for a health check-up late at night? This remains a troubling question, though the police can claim that there is no law to prohibit them about the hour they choose for a medical check-up. How did the killers come to know about this schedule and that the media would be around in such close proximity to Atiq and his brother?

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The assassins look like puppets. Someone else, or, some others, are playing them from behind the curtain, it seems. There are reports that the motorcycle in which they arrived had a fake number plate. A prominent TV channel said that this bike was owned by the police. There was huge security in the funeral of Asad, Atiq’s 18-year-old son, who, too, was shot dead in an encounter earlier – that was the 183rd encounter in UP under the current regime. So, if they could organise such massive security for his funeral, why did they not do the same in the case of Atiq, who was in the custody of the UP police after being taken out of the Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat? Ashraf was brought from Bareily jail. The judiciary had sent them to police remand, isn’t it?

The ADG (Law and Order) of UP had earlier said that there is a danger that Atiq can be freed in UP by his gangster friends, while he is on the road under police custody. Atiq himself had expressed the fear that he could be murdered. Surely, this murder has a striking similarity with the earlier ‘encounter’ of Vikas Dubey in UP.

Besides, look at the reaction of the ministers of the BJP-led government in  UP. One minister, Swatantra Deo Singh, known to be close to the current chief minister, said in a tweet that “paap aur punya ka hisaab isi duniya mein hota hain…” meaning that sin and good acts get their due in this world itself. Another minister said that this was divine intervention – an “aasmani” act.

So, who will benefit from these brazen, cold-blooded murders (and other encounters) in UP, under the auspices of the UP police, and, which, apparently, seems a well-planned, thought-out and stage-managed murders in full public view with live TV cameras?

There is a section of population in UP which believes that courts are taking too long to provide justice, that bahubalis, dons and the mafia is getting away under the due process of law, that there should be ‘quick justice’ and that this is indeed a very good trend. After the murders, there crackers were burst and sweets were distributed in some places, it has been reported. They really care a damn for the due process of law, or the values and doctrines of a society based on democracy and the Indian Constitution. This section seems to be aligned with the current dispensation – and their views, and joy, clearly, makes the current establishment in UP and India – extremely happy.

As told to Amit Sengupta

Law & Order Has Remarkably Improved in The Yogi Regime

‘You May Differ With His Ideology, But Yogi Has Made UP Safer’

Dr Sangeeta Sharma, 65, Principal of Pandit Sujan Singh Degree College in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh), says law & order has remarkably improved in the Yogi regime

The western Uttar Pradesh, the area where I have been living, is often popularly referred to as the Badlands of the state. There is a saying in several households here: when the Sun goes down, you lie down. This means women and even men are advised not to travel or step outside during late hours as criminals rule the streets after sunset.

However, things have drastically changed in the last five years since Yogi Adityanath took reins of the state as Chief Minister.

Earlier, even daylight crimes chain snatching, petty robberies, eve teasing, molestation in colleges and universities were order of the day. It is not difficult to imagine if this was the situation in urban areas, how things would be in rural pockets. But, as I said, that was before Yogi took charge.

His government apparently placed law and order as its top priority as the state administration, including police, started rebuilding the trust of people with positive steps that were visible, right after he took over. One of the first such step was forming anti-Romeo surveillance squads.

I know that these squad drew widespread criticism from several quarters, but the critics have little idea about the plight of school- and college-going girls. Miscreants on bikes had made commuting to educational institutions a miserable experience. Being a degree college principal, I know what hardships my students were facing. Today, eve teasing and molestations have become extremely rare.

ALSO READ: ‘Yogi Didn’t Change Policemen, He Changed Policing’

It is heartening to see the police being sensitive to crime against women in Uttar Pradesh. Even the complaints made on a micro-blogging site like Twitter are taken seriously by the UP Police social media cell and promptly pursued. This is a dramatic change, an unprecedented one, and it could not have been possible unless the orders came right from the top.

Sharma says anti-Romeo squads (right) were a necessity in Uttar Pradesh

We had never imagined that such a safe environment would be brought in Meerut and nearby areas in our lifetime. The presence of police has increased, which gives us more confidence. Now we can go out for a walk after dinner fearlessly as police patrol vehicles are scaling the streets throughout the night.

There is another local example to prove my point. There used to a ‘Chor Bazaar’ called Soti Ganj in Meerut and everyone in the district administration knew that stolen cars and bikes were brought in there every day, dismantled and then the spare parts sold in black market.

The market had been in business for as long as we can recall. Yet, little action was ever taken to stem the rot. It was a blot on our city as even people as far as from Delhi-Noida mentioned it as stolen vehicle haven. Mercifully, under the Yogi rule, the infamous trade has been kicked out of the city.

One can have ideological differences with the party that Yogi Adityanath belongs to but his good work has to be appreciated. Of course, there is a long way to go to strengthen the law and order in the state but the sense of safety and security which has been brought about under his rule is praiseworthy. Yogi is taking the state into the right direction.

I hope that others states also follow the same route to make India a safe country for every citizen, and women in particular.

As Told To Deepti Sharma