Former Indian politician Atiq Ahmed shot dead on live TV

Kathmandu: Atiq Ahmed, a former Indian politician found guilty of kidnapping, has been shot dead along with his brother Ashraf on live TV in Allahabad.

One of the three men disguised as journalists shot Atiq and his brother in presence of police and media on Saturday.

The video, of BBC Hindi, shows Atiq talking to the reporter when the shooter brutally shot near the head of Atiq. And then to Ashraf.

Police were escorting both handcuffed Atiq and Ashraf for a medical checkup when they were shot.

More than a dozen of criminal cases; including extortion, murder, and kidnapping in the past twenty years. A local court had sentenced Atiq and two others to life imprisonment in the kidnapping case.

Atiq had also been claimed of having a threat to his life even from the police.

The shooters quickly surrendered to the police. A few days earlier, police had shot Atiq's son dead.

Just before being shot, Atiq was asked whether he attended his son's funeral or not. To which, he had replied, 'They did not take us, so we did not go.' These were the last words of Atiq.

The Police said that the three attackers had arrived at the site on a motorbike. A journalist and police were also injured in the incident.

Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, had banned large gatherings in districts to ensure peace.

The killing of Atiq and Ashraf in presence of media and police has raised the question of security system in Uttar Pradesh.

Atiq had been a controversial figure in Indian politics and the criminal world. He had been accused of murder in 1979. The next 10 years after the accusation, he became a state lawmaker.

He had won the election as an independent candidate in 1989. Atiq had also been accused of targeting a planned attack, during his time in prison, on a businessman in Uttar Pradesh in 2019.

Police have killed more than 180 people on various charges in the past six years. Police have been terming such killings as 'encounters.' Human Rights activists have been raising their voice against such killings.