Umesh Pal murder case: Plea in SC seeking probe over Atiq Ahmed, Ashraf murder and 183 encounters in UP

A plea has been moved in the Supreme Court by an advocate seeking to constitute an Independent Expert Committee under the Chairmanship of a Former Supreme Court Justice to inquire about the encounters that had occurred since 2017 as stated by the Uttar Pradesh Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) and also to inquire into the police custody murder of Atiq and Ashraf in Uttar Pradesh. 

Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead while they were taken to a hospital in Prayagraj yesterday amid police presence. Advocate Vishaal Tiwari has moved a Public Interest Litigation and sought to constitute an Independent Expert Committee under the Chairmanship of a 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).

He has also sought to inquire about the killing of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf who was shot dead by assailants during police presence. Advocate Vishal Tiwari, in his public interest litigation, has also sought to issue direction to unearth the fake encounters by directing the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate, collect and record the evidence in the Kanpur Bikru Encounter case 2020 in which Vikas Dubey and his aides were killed by police in the encounter as the inquiry commission could not record the evidence in rebuttal of police version and has filed the inquiry report in absence of that.

"The DAREDEVILS which Uttar Pradesh police has tried to become," the petition said. The petitioner said that his PIL is against the violation of rule of law and oppressive police brutality being perpetrated by Uttar Pradesh. 

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The petitioner has apprised the court that he has approached the court in a matter pertaining to the Kanpur encounter of Vikas Dubey and said that a similar incident was repeated by Uttar Pradesh police which is the encounter killing of Asad who was the son of Atiq Ahmad gangster turned politician and also the killing of Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf by private assailants when they were in police custody and were taken for medical examination.

The petitioner said that such incidents are a severe threat to the democracy and rule of law, and such acts are the establishment of anarchy and prima facie development of the police state. 

He also mentioned that extra-judicial killings or fake police encounters have been very badly condemned under the law and such things cannot exist 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 police when becomes DARE DEVILS then the entire Rule of law collapses and generates fear in the mind of people against the police which is very dangerous for the Democracy and this also results into further crime," the petitioner said.

On April 15, the gangster turned politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf when being taken for medical examination by the Uttar Pradesh Police, they were in the custody of UP Police and they had the duty of providing the highest safety to the accused, the lawyer said.

The lawyer also stated that the recent killings of Atiq Ahmed and his brother impose a question on the transparency of this incident. "Such is a direct attack on Indian democracy and rule of law. Later the assailants were arrested but during the commission of the offence, there was no protection or retaliation by the police. Such imposes a question on the transparency and proves this matter as a pre-planned attack with no redressal for the accused," Advocate Vishal Tiwari said in his petition.