Prayagraj: Charges against the three accused, who allegedly shot gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf on April 15 in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, will be framed after August 16 by a sessions court.
According to district government counsel (criminal) Gulab Chandra Agrahri, the accused appeared before the court through video conferencing and sought time before framing charges.
Accepting their request to engage their own counsel in the case, sessions judge Santosh Rai said if they do not engage their counsel by August 16, they will be provided state counsel to represent them in court proceedings.
On July 13, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) submitted a charge sheet against the three assailants, Lavlesh Tiwari (22), Mohit Singh Shani (23) and Arun Maurya( 18) who are currently lodged at the Pratapgarh district jail.
The SIT, which was constituted to investigate this murder case, submitted the charge sheet before Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Dinesh Kumar Gautam after completing its investigation under Section 302 (murder) and several other sections of the IPC and Arms Act.
The three accused who had been posing as journalists shot and killed Atiq and his brother from point-blank range, when the brothers were being taken for a medical examination at Colvin Hospital of Prayagraj, as a mandatory legal requirement.
With inputs from IANS