Gunmen kill former Indian MP on live TV

Police escort Atik Ahmed before he was shot dead. Photo: Reuters

Guns posing as journalists shot and killed a former member of the Indian Parliament and his brother live on TV as police were wheeling them handcuffed to the hospital, authorities said.

Atiq, 61 Ahmed, who has been imprisoned since 2019 and was convicted of kidnapping, answered reporters&#39 ; questions late on Saturday evening, when he and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at close range, television footage was shown.

"According to preliminary information, three people posing as journalists approached them and opened fire… the attackers were detained and interrogated" said police spokesman Prashant Kumar.

A TV spot in the northern city of Prayagraj shows attackers shouting Hindu slogans after a brazen attack.

Two of the victims belonged to India's Muslim minority, but police did not say if they were investigating possible sectarian motives in the killings.

The brothers were deeply involved in the underworld of India. More than 100 different cases were reportedly filed against the former MP, and according to press reports, the attackers were petty criminals.

Police find one of the weapons used in the murder at the crime scene. Photo: Shutterstock

The couple was taken to the hospital for a medical examination, and at that time they were surrounded by police.

< p>According to local media, one of the militants even had a TV camera, and the other had a microphone with the logo of the TV channel .

A few days earlier, the police of the same state of Uttar Pradesh said that the shooting killed the 19-year-old son of Ahmed and his accomplice in a shootout. Both were wanted in a murder case.

Dozens of indicted people have been killed across the state in recent years in similar so-called «police clashes,» which human rights groups say are often extrajudicial executions.

Ahmed, who has been charged with the murder and assault, last month said in a petition to the Supreme Court of India that his life was under threat from the police.

More than four people gathered after his shooting. people were banned on Sunday in the crime-ridden northern state of 200 million, ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

The shooting sparked outrage among opposition parties who accuse the BJP of ruling out of fear.

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Hundreds of politicians belonging to all parties across India have been prosecuted, especially in the impoverished state of Uttar Pradesh.

They include almost half of the state government ministers, including the prime minister state minister. , according to the independent monitoring group of the Association for Democratic Reforms.