The Uttar Pradesh government has told the Supreme Court that no fault has been found on the part of the police in an ongoing probe into the killing of gangster Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf in Prayagraj on April 15.

In a status report filed in the top court, the state government has said it has left no stone unturned to ensure a fair and impartial investigation into the incident and other cases, including the killing of gangster Vikas Dubey and various police encounters since 2017, raised by the petitioner. In its report, the state government has given details of the status of cases mentioned in the plea filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, who sought an independent probe into the killing of Ahmad and Ashraf, and about compliance with various past recommendations of the court and various commissions.

On details about some encounters, including that of gangster Vikas Dubey in July 2020, the state has said these incidents were thoroughly investigated in accordance with the guidelines and directions issued by the apex court in its verdicts. The status report said that “each of the seven incidents (including the murder of Ahmad and Ashraf) highlighted by the petitioner in his pleadings, have been thoroughly investigated by the state in accordance with the directions/guidelines issued by this court in various decisions, and where the investigations are complete, no fault has been found on the part of the police”.

Ahmad and Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists while police personnel were escorting them to a medical college for examination on April 15. The shooting was captured live on national television.