- Ahmed had previously claimed there was a threat to his own life from the police.
- Atiq Ahmed, who was under police escort, was talking to reporters when a gun was pulled close to his head in Prayagraj, also known as Allahabad.
- After the shots were fired on Saturday night, three man who had been posing as journalists quickly surrendered and were taken into custody.
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A former Indian politician convicted of kidnapping has been shot dead live on TV along with his brother.
Atiq Ahmed, who was under police escort, was speaking to reporters when a gun was pulled close to his head in Prayagraj, also known as Allahabad.
After the shots were fired on Saturday night, three man who had been posing as journalists quickly surrendered and were taken into custody.
Ahmed’s teenage son was shot dead by police days earlier.
Ahmed had previously claimed there was a threat to his own life from the police.
Video showed Ahmed and his brother, Ashraf, both in handcuffs, speaking to journalists on the way to a medical check-up at a hospital seconds before they were both shot.
In the footage, shared widely on social media and TV channels, Ahmed is asked whether he attended his son’s funeral.
His last words to camera are: “They did not take us, so we did not go.”
The three suspected attackers had arrived at the site on motorcycles, the police said. A policeman and a journalist were also injured at the scene.
Following Saturday night’s incident, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered a judicial investigation into the killings and prohibited large gatherings in the districts of Uttar Pradesh.
Ahmed, who is a former MP, and his brother were in police custody and had been brought to Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, where Ahmed was facing murder and assault charges.
They had both been charged in April in connection with the February murder of Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 murder of Raju Pal, a lawmaker belonging to the regional Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Ahmed was detained in 2019 after he was found guilty of kidnapping.
Atiq Ahmed’s teenage son Asad and another man, wanted in connection with a murder case, were killed by police earlier this week in what was described as a shoot-out.
Last month India’s Supreme Court declined to hear Ahmed’s petition in which he alleged there was a threat to his life from the police.
Uttar Pradesh is governed by the Hindu-nationalist BJP, and opposition parties criticised the killings as a security lapse.
