Atiq-Ashraf Murder: After being taken into police custody for the murder of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, the three shooters have been sent to a four-day remand and are scheduled to appear before a court in Prayagraj on April 23.

Prior to this, the three attackers - Sunny (23) from Hamirpur, Lavlesh Tiwari (22) from Banda, and Arun Maurya (18) from Kasganj - were presented before a Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court in Prayagraj earlier today.

As the hearing for the three assailants was in progress, security was intensified outside the CJM court. The police were seeking custody of the suspects.

Atiq-Ashraf Murder: Police on the hunt for absconding suspects

The murder of Atiq and Ashraf took place on April 15 when the three shooters, disguised as journalists, shot them at close range while they were being taken to a medical college in Prayagraj for a medical check-up.

When questioned about the whereabouts of Shaista Parveen, Atiq's wife, and Guddu Muslim, both of whom are absconding suspects in the Umesh Pal murder case, the officer confirmed that they would be apprehended soon.

As well as Ahmed and Ashraf, four other people who were named in the FIR related to the Umesh Pal murder case, Asad, Arbaaz, Vijay Chaudhary (alias Usman), and Ghulam, have also been killed.

Atiq-Ashraf Murder: Who was Umesh Pal?

Umesh Pal was an important witness in the 2005 murder case of BSP MLA Raju Pal, in which Atiq was also accused.

On February 25, Umesh Pal's wife Jaya Pal lodged an FIR against the suspects in the Umesh Pal murder case, including relevant sections of the IPC such as 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder), as well as under the Explosive Substances Act.