NC leader calls for independent probe into Atiq Ahmad’s killing

Srinagar, April 16 (PTI) National Conference leader Sheikh Mustafa Kamal on Sunday called for an independent probe into the killings of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf Ahmad in Uttar Pradesh.

“There should be an independent probe into the encounter. There are fingers being pointed already,” Kamal told reporters in Anantnag district.

He said in the absence of a credible probe, it will be “presumed that the gangster-turned-politician and his brother were eliminated at the behest of the UP government”.

“If it is not investigated thoroughly, it will be understood that these encounters were carried out by the UP government and the blame was put elsewhere,” he added.

The Ahmad brothers were shot dead Saturday night in Prayagraj in a dramatic turn of events when three assailants posing as journalists opened fire on them in the middle of a media interaction.