Atiq Ahmed, a former Member of Parliament in India, was assassinated along with his brother while being escorted to a medical checkup by police.
The murder was captured live on national television and immediately spread across all media channels and social media platforms.
The killer can be seen on footage reaching over the shoulders of police officers and pointing a gun at Ahmed’s temple. Ahmed’s turban flew off as the gun went off, and his brother Ashraf was shot a moment later.
One of the attackers can be seen in other footage repeatedly firing at the brothers’ bodies as they lay on the ground.
The suspected gunmen were posing as journalists, according to several local media reports.
The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a thorough judicial investigation into the killings.
The men were reportedly leaders of a local criminal organization involved in murder and land-grabbing. Ahmed’s son had been killed in Jhansi City only a week earlier. He had been wanted in connection with a murder case that was part of a larger crackdown on a land mafia in Uttar Pradesh.
The state government banned gatherings of more than four people in the area, fearing that the assassinations might cause violent unrest.
The slaying of Ahmed while in police custody demonstrated the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s inability to establish law and order in the state, according to the head of the opposition Samajwadi Party.
Ahmed had been a Member of Parliament with the Samajwadi Party before losing the election in 2014.
The assassination was a tragic event that shook the nation. The killers’ audacity in carrying out such a brazen attack in broad daylight, in the presence of police officers, underscored the challenges facing law enforcement authorities in the region. It also highlighted the deep-rooted criminal activities that continue to plague many parts of India. The judicial inquiry into the killings is expected to shed more light on the events leading up to the assassination and the identities of those involved.