Etawah: Samajwadi Party national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, who reached Etawah on Sunday, held UP CM' Yogi Adityanath's "Mitti mein mila denge (will ground them to dust)" claim as being responsible for the killing of slain ganglord-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, claiming that his statement sent out a message that nothing will happen to those who takes out Atiq Ahmed.
"A tragic (Umesh Pal murder) incident had happened earlier in Prayagraj, after which the chief minister gave a statement that "he would turn mafias into dust". So, this was an order from the CM which sent across a clear message to the killers. Atiq filed a petition in the Supreme Court saying he feared being killed in police custody and that's how his end came."
Yadav claimed that "many, who are close to the chief minister, are in contract with the state's land mafia."
Meanwhile, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath on Sunday demanded that the Supreme Court take cognizance of the brazen killing of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf on Saturday while being taken for a medical in Prayagraj.
"Supreme Court should take cognizance of the whole matter and pass an order to investigate it," he said. Questioning the prevailing law and order situation in UP, Kamal Nath said, "Today these murders are happening openly in broad daylight. What does this tell us about the law-and-order situation in UP? What happened in the largest state is unfortunate."
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Sunday, too, voiced concerns over the incident, saying that UP was in the grip of 'jungle raj' under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Sitaram Yechury took to Twitter to say, "Jungle Raj under BJP Yogi govt in UP. It's USP: Encounter killings, Bulldozer politics and patronising criminals. Enforce rule of law; apprehend perpetrators and punish them stringently".Â
—ANI