A plea was filed in the Supreme Court on Sunday seeking the constitution of an independent expert committee headed by a former apex court judge to probe the killings of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf.
This comes a day after gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead when they were answering reporters' queries while being escorted by police personnel to a medical college in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj for a checkup on Saturday night.
The two were shot dead by three men posing as journalists.
The plea, filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, also sought an inquiry into the 183 encounters that have taken place in Uttar Pradesh since 2017.
On Friday, Uttar Pradesh Police had said that it has gunned down 183 alleged criminals in encounters in the six years of the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government and this included Atiq Ahmed's son Asad and his accomplice.
"Issue guidelines/directions to safeguard the rule of law by constituting an Independent Expert Committee under the Chairmanship of former Supreme Court justice to inquire into the 183 encounters which had occurred since 2017 as stated by Uttar Pradesh Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) and also to inquire into the police custody murder of Atiq and Ashraf," the plea said, according to a PTI report.
Referring to Atiq's killing, the plea said "such actions by police are a severe threat to democracy and rule of law and lead to police state".
In a democratic society the police cannot be allowed to become a mode of delivering final justice or to become a punishing authority. The power of punishment is only vested in the judiciary, the plea added.
It said that extra judicial killings or fake police encounters have no place under the law.
When the police turn "daredevils then the entire rule of law collapses and generates fear in the mind of people against police which is very dangerous for democracy and this also results into further crime," it stated.
Just hours before the shooting, the last rites of Ahmed's son Asad, who along with one of his associates was gunned down in a police encounter in Jhansi on April 13, were held.
(With inputs from PTI)
Also Read: Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad, brother Ashraf buried in UP's Prayagraj
Also Read: ‘Siding with mafia’: BJP hits back at Kamal Nath's demand on Atiq Ahmed's killing