In a homicide witnessed on live television on Saturday, a former legislator in India's parliament, accused of kidnapping, was shot dead together with his sibling while police were taking them for a medical check-up.
The shocking footage of the men being killed was spread on television and social media. A shooter can be seen leaning over police shoulders and pointing a pistol at the temple of former politician Atiq Ahmed, whose turban is blown off as the gun discharges.
His brother, Ashraf Ahmed, was shot, and both victims died within minutes while police apprehended three persons accused of carrying out the murder.
According to media accounts, the assailants pretended to be journalists. One suspect surrendered soon after the incident, while officers apprehended the other two.
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They were among those who had gathered as the two brothers, supposedly kingpins of a local criminal organization, were led shackled from a hospital in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh's northern state, on Saturday evening.
Following the murder, the suspected gunman sang Hindu religious chanting.
During the attack, one police officer was injured.
Fearing violent unrest in the aftermath of the killings, the Uttar Pradesh government prohibited gatherings of more than four individuals across the state.
"The state's government imposed restriction orders after the murders of Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf Ahmed, who were a part of a large mafia connected to land grabbing and murder cases," a senior police official explained.
"We don't want any type of protest to gain traction," the official said.
The state administration, which is controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party, has launched an investigation into the killings.
Last week, police in Jhansi killed Atiq Ahmed's son. He was in connection with a murder investigation that was part of a more extensive operation on a land mafia in Uttar Pradesh.
Over the last six years, police in Uttar Pradesh murdered more than 180 possible criminals during encounters.
The death of his ex-party comrade while in police custody, according to the chairman of the opposition Samajwadi Party, highlighted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's failure to bring peace and order to Uttar Pradesh.
"When someone can be killed openly firing amidst the police security cordon, what about the general public's safety?" a tweet asked Akhilesh Yadav, leader of the opposition Samajwadi Party.
