A controversial banner featuring slain Samajwadi Party MP and gangster Atiq Ahmed has been put up at Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj Mahakumbh, stirring significant social media buzz.
A right-wing organisation installed the poster near the Panchayati Akhara Shri Niranjani camp on Sunday, January 5 displaying Atiq Ahmed’s photograph with a cross mark in red ink and describing his murderer as “angels”.
The text of the poster reads “Welcome to Atiq’s terror-free, first Prayagraj Mahakumbh”. Three people including Sunny, Lovelesh, and Arun, who were accused of killing Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed are shown holding guns with the text “angels”.
The organisation’s national president Roshan Pandey has not only referred to these killers as “divine messengers”, but also prepared certificates to honour them.
The poster has garnered mixed reactions with some welcoming the move as a “symbol of fight” against criminal elements while others criticized it as irresponsible and potentially undermining law and order.
Meanwhile, police have initiated a preliminary investigation into the matter with Mahakumbh senior superintendent of police (SSP) Rajesh Dwivedi ordering the poster’s immediate removal.
A gangster turned politician Atiq Ahmed was shot dead live on TV along with his brother by three assailants while they were being taken for medical examination on April 15, 2023.
His murder had previously stirred significant political controversy across the country with many opposition parties criticizing UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s government’s handling of law and order in the state.
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