New Delhi: On the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA ) has decided to prepare standard operating procedure (SOP) for the safety of journalists in the wake of three assailants, posing as mediapersons, killing gangster Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf, sources said.
The MHA, under the leadership of the prime minister and guidance of Union home minister Amit Shah, will prepare the SOPs for the safety and security of journalists, they said.
The trio — Lavlesh Tiwari, 22, of Banda, Mohit alias Sunny, 23, of Hamirpur and Arun Maurya, 18, of Kasganj — shot dead the brothers at point-blank range in an attack that was filmed by mediapersons who were talking to the victims.
The trio had entered the group of mediapersons, and one of them was carrying an old video camera.
The FIR on the shooting incident said some journalists were hurt after they fell during the commotion that followed the shooting. Some reports said a journalist had been injured in the foot by a bullet.
Prayagraj commissioner of police Ramit Sharma said the three assailants, who were arrested immediately after the incident, had joined the group of media persons who were trying to get sound bites from the Ahmads.
“In accordance with a mandatory legal requirement, Ahmad and Ashraf were brought to the hospital for a medical examination. According to preliminary information, three men posing as journalists approached them and opened fire. Ahmad and Ashraf were killed in the attack. The attackers have been held and are being questioned,” Sharma said.
The bullet-riddled bodies of Ahmad and Ashraf were taken away from the spot as tension gripped the area after the sensational killings.
Special DG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said: “The mediapersons were breaking the security cordon to reach to the accused (Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf) for taking their bites. In this sequence, both Atiq and Ashraf were giving bytes to the media and they were escorted (by the police). Meanwhile, from the crowd of media, three mediapersons with video camera, mike and media reached them and started firing indiscriminately,” he said.
