Lovelesh Tiwari, one of the main accused in the murder case of gangster Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf, has reportedly told police that he met Atiq in Prayagraj before the incident. During police interrogation, Lovelesh revealed that he had the desire to join Atiq’s gang due to his power and dominance. However, for some unknown reason, he was unable to join the gang at the time.
Last week, Atiq and Ashraf were shot dead by three men posing as journalists during a media interaction while they were being escorted to a medical college in Prayagraj for a checkup. The three assailants, including Lovelesh Tiwari, were arrested soon after the incident, and arms used in the crime were recovered from the spot.
According to Lovelesh’s statement to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), when he met Atiq, he was surrounded by armed men in his Chakiya office in Prayagraj, with businessmen and traders sitting in fear in front of him.
All three suspects, including Lovelesh, confessed during police interrogation that they had concealed their mobile phones in a hotel. The police acted on their information and seized two mobile phones from their hotel room, although the SIM cards were not found inside them.
The three accused shooters were produced before the court of the chief judicial magistrate in Prayagraj and sent to four days of police custody. They were brought to Prayagraj from Pratapgarh jail amid heavy police presence for questioning.
