Killers of Atiq Ahmed are part of terror cell, says Owaisi

Hyderabad, April 21 (IANS) AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday said the three men who killed former MP Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in police custody were part of a terror cell.

He termed the assailants as terrorists and "illicit" children of Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi.

The Hyderabad MP expressed his apprehension that there may be many more such people who were provided arms and trained and they may carry out more killings.

Addressing a public meeting at the historic Mecca Masjid here on the occasion of Jummat-ul-Vida, the last Friday of Ramzan, he noted that none of the UP policemen present there took out their weapons and the assailants after succeeding in their task raised their arms to surrender.

He cited media reports which quoted top police officials as saying that the assailants may have received training for one month and they may have fired 500 rounds before killing the former MP and his brother.

Stating that each of the revolvers used by the assailants was worth Rs 8 lakh, Owaisi wondered how these youth acquired the weapons when media reports show that they come from poor families.

The MP alleged that the assailants were given arms and training to realize the dream of Godse.

Owaisi drew similarities between the attack on him last year and the killing of Atiq Ahmed. He said in both the cases the attackers raised religious slogans and they later told police that they wanted to become famous through these attacks.

"They will kill more people. They may try to attack me again. I am not scared. I will be alive as long as Allah wants," he said.

The MP wanted to know from the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh why the UAPA was not invoked against the assailants in Atiq Ahmed's killing.

He also demanded that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath make public the letter which Atiq Ahmed had written to him before he was killed.

Referring to the acquittal of all 68 accused in the ANaroda Gam massacre case in which 11 Muslims were killed during 2002 Gujarat riots, Owaisi asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi whether he would appeal against the acquittal.

He voiced concern over denial of justice and acquittal of accused in all cases in which Muslims were targeted.

He recalled that Aseemanand and 5 others were acquitted in Mecca Masjid blast while those involved in blast at Ajmer dargah had also gone unpunished.

Owaisi said 36 years after the massacre of 70 Muslims in Maliana in Uttar Pradesh, the accused were set free.