Two killers had a brush with law; no record on 3rd
KANPUR: From selling illicit liquor to committing murder, two of the assailants involved in the killing of Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf have a criminal history that ranges from petty to heinous, while the police record of the third attacker, a teen, is yet to be ascertained, police said.
Lavlesh Tiwari, Mohit alias Sunny and Arun Kumar Maurya carried out Saturday night’s brazen attack because they wanted to make a name in the criminal circles, according to police.
“We wanted to kill Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf with the aim of completely wiping off the Atiq-Ashraf gang and making a name for ourselves,” the UP police quoted the assailants as saying in its FIR.
Lavlesh (22), a resident of Banda, already faces four criminal cases, including that of selling illicit liquor, manhandling, sexual harassment, and charges under the IT Act, a Banda police official familiar with the case said.
His father Yagya Tiwari said he learnt about the incident through news channels. “I do not know anything about him, nor do we care. He doesn’t live with us.”
His brother, Ved Tiwari, said Lavlesh was previously associated with Bajrang Dal, but left four years ago. According to Lavlesh’s social media profile, he was Zila Sah Suraksha Pramukh of Bajrang Dal. “He is an alcoholic. He briefly visited the house last week,” Ved said.
Mohit, alias Sunny, (23) is a “history-sheeter” with 17 cases registered against him at Kuraura police station of Hamirpur, including that of murder, attempt to murder, robbery and narcotics smuggling, a police official familiar with the matter said.
“He was also associated with
western UP gangster Sundar Bhati in 2018, while they were lodged in Hamirpur jail. He later began working for Bhati,” the official said. Sunny’s brother Pintu said he has no idea how he got into crime. “My brother used to do nothing, and roam here and there. He has some cases registered against him, but I don’t know the details,” he said.
A neighbour said Sunny left his house 10 years ago. “He went to jail after a brawl, after which his mentality changed and he entered the world of crime. After a few incidents, he left Kurara. He was in Hamirpur jail for about a year,” he said.
Kurara station house officer, Pavan Kumar Patel, told PTI that Sunny has a line-up of 14 cases against him, including attempt to murder and robbery, as well as crimes under the narcotics law and the Arms Act.
In Kasganj, the neighbours of Arun Kumar Maurya (18) expressed shock over the incident. His parents are dead, and two of his brothers are in the scrap business in Delhi, a neighbour told reporters. No one in the village knew what Maurya did and where he lived, he appeared to have left the village about a decade ago, he added. Police are still probing whether he was involved in any crime earlier.