On Atiq-Ashraf killings, Tejashwi Yadav’s ‘kanoon ka janaza’ charge on UP govt. Watch
Tejashwi Yadav said everyone knows the kind of governance that is there in Uttar Pradesh.
The murders of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf Ahmad in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj have become the latest point of contention between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government headed by Yogi Adityanath and the opposition parties over 'the state of law and order' in UP. Bihar's deputy chief minister, Tejashwi Yadav, now waded into the controversy on Monday.
Yadav maintained that eliminating crime must be done lawfully and claimed that Atiq’s funeral procession actually signified the ‘funeral procession of law’ in the state. "I have no sympathies for crime or criminals. There are laws & Constitution to eliminate crime,” Yadav said while speaking to the reporters.
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He added that looking at past events, even the assassins of a PM were made to undergo trial and were punished. “What happened in Uttar Pradesh was not the funeral procession of Atiq Ahmed but that of law. UP tops in terms of custodial deaths. This has been done for cheap publicity. Everyone knows the kind of governance that exists in UP...This seemed scripted,” the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader said.
Following the incident, the opposition has been charging the BJP, which is also in power at the Centre, with having created "jungle raj" and "mafia raj" in Uttar Pradesh lead by chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
The brothers were shot dead live on camera amid a media interaction while they were being escorted by the UP police for a medical checkup in Prayagraj late Saturday. Three men posing as journalists, opened fire from close range, killing both Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf on the spot.
As the Yogi government continues to face backlash over the disturbing incident, it has set up a three-member judicial enquiry committee to probe the murders and submit a report in two months. The three killers, who were nabbed on spot by the police, were identified and sent to 14-day judicial custody on Sunday.
