Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad, brother Ashraf buried in UP's Prayagraj

Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Khalid Azeem alias Ashraf were buried in their ancestral village in this Uttar Pradesh district on Sunday.

The bodies of Ahmad and Ashraf were transported to the Kasari Masari graveyard in an ambulance, which also carried an elderly member of the family. The burial process were done under spotlights.

Atiq's son Asad, an accused in the Umesh Pal murder case who was killed by police gunshots, was buried in the same graveyard.

The graveyard is in Ahmad's family village, and his parents were also buried there.

Asad's last rites were performed on Saturday amid tight security measures, with only a few distant relatives and locals present inside the burial ground. Asad and his accomplice Ghulam were both wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case and were killed in a police encounter near Jhansi on Thursday.

Asad, Ahmad's third of five sons, had been missing since the February 24 murder of Umesh Pal.

Hours after Asad was interred, Ahmad (60) and Ashraf, who were in handcuffs, were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists when they were answering queries from reporters while being escorted by police personnel to a medical college here for a checkup.

Atiq Ahmad was a controversial figure known for his criminal activities as well as his political connections. He had been involved in a number of criminal cases, including murder and kidnapping, and had even served in Parliament. Despite facing multiple criminal charges, Ahmad remained active in politics, even running for the Shrawasti constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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