Aisha Noori approaches Supreme Court to conduct a probe by a retired judge into the ‘state-sponsored killing’ of Atiq and Ashraf Ahmed

The sister of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf Ahmed, Aisha Noori, approached the Supreme Court seeking a probe headed by a retired judge into the ‘state-sponsored killing’ of the duo along with the encounter of Atiq’s son and her nephew by the police. Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf Ahmed were gunned down while being in police custody in Uttar Pradesh. The petition highlighted that “The deaths of the petitioner’s family members and other persons are connected parts of a vicious, arbitrary, and unlawful campaign by the Government of Uttar Pradesh. In the absence of such a comprehensive and independent inquiry, the rights of the petitioner and her family members under Article 21 of the Constitution would stand violated.” Noori, the petitioner, also stated that “A piecemeal inquiry that only looks at singular encounters that have taken place during the campaign will fail to bring home the responsibility of the higher authorities who are ultimately responsible for the killing of the petitioner’s family members. Furthermore, It would put the blame for the deaths on the officers present on the spot in each case rather than the authorities who are responsible for authorizing, planning, and coordinating such acts.” It further added, “In order to deter the respondent government from continuing with its unconstitutional program of terror and to restore the rule of law in the state, it is essential that an agency independent of the said government carries out an across-the-board inquiry which can evaluate the role played by high-level state agents who have planned and orchestrated the campaign targeting the petitioner’s family members.”