Now mafia can't threaten anyone in UP: Yogi warns after Atiq killing

Days after gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother were shot dead in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday warned that "now mafias cannot threaten anyone in the state".

"Before 2017, the law and order in the state was not good, but after that, there is a rule of law in the state. From 2017 to 2023, there have been no riots in Uttar Pradesh; there was no need for a curfew," Yogi Aditynath said while speaking at a function.

The chief minister's comments come even as gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists in the middle of a media interaction on Saturday night.

The accused Lovelesh Tiwari, Sunny and Arun Maurya, who confessed to the crime said that they wanted to eliminate Atiq Ahmed to become popular.

The killers planned the attack after they learnt that the brothers were being taken to a hospital for a medical check-up. The shooters diisguised as journalists as they wanted to get very close to Atiq and tracked him all day on Saturday with other media persons.

The shooting incident occurred just two days after the gangster-turned-politician's son Asad Ahmed was killed in an encounter by the UP cops in Jhansi. Asad and his accomplice Ghulam were wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case of Prayagraj and were carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh each.

Meanwhile, advocate Vishal Tiwari filed the plea which also sought an inquiry into the 183 encounters that have taken place in Uttar Pradesh since 2017.