Prayagraj: The most dangerous of the three men who shot dead Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf had it all planned after having been inspired by the jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, sources said.
Sunny Singh, influenced by the communally charged speeches of Bishnoi, dreamt of carrying out a ‘big kill’ like the murder of Punjab musician Sidhu Moose Wala allegedly committed by Bishnoi's gang on May 29 last year, according to NDTV.
Singh, who is currently facing a dozen cases, brought together Lovelesh and Tiwari Arun Maurya to carry out the attack.
They turned up posing as journalists while Atiq and his brother were talking to reporters, the trio shot them at point-blank in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj.
The shootout that shocked the nation was taken place around 10 pm on Saturday on camera of journalists.
The two brothers were being taken to a hospital for a medical check-up when they were attacked.
As they were overpowered by the police after the attack, the alleged murderers, all in their twenties, shouted "Jai Shri Ram" slogans.
The three, currently in judicial custody for 14 days, were initially housed in Prayagraj's Naini Jail before being shifted to Pratapgarh Jail on Monday over security concerns.