Policemen involved in encounter of Atiq Ahmed’s son get President’s Medal
Lucknow: Six policemen involved in the fake encounter of a son of a former Member of Indian Parliament, Atiq Ahmed in Uttar Pradesh, have been selected to receive the President’s Medal in India.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the former Muslim MP’s son Asad Ahmed, along with Ghulam, was shot and killed by the Uttar Pradesh police in Jhansi in broad daylight on April 13, 2023.
The announcement of the award has drawn criticism from social activists, who see it as a reflection of deeper societal biases. “This was a complete cruelty and a one-sided attack. Instead of taking action against the officers responsible, they are being rewarded. This only reinforces their hatred towards Muslims,” Ahmad Naeem, a local activist, said.
The encounter was carried out by a Special Task Force (STF) team led by Deputy Superintendents of Police Navindu Kumar and Vimal Kumar, and occurred amid growing tensions over the wrongdoings of the Samajwadi Party MP. The police had also killed former MP Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in full presence of the media while in police custody, further fueling the public’s concerns.
Adding to the controversy, a judicial inquiry conducted into the murder of Atiq and Ashraf cleared the police and BJP government of any wrongdoing. The Rajiv Lochan Commission, formed to investigate the encounter of Asad and Ghulam, also held the encounter as legitimate. However, these findings have done little to quell public outrage.
One resident, speaking anonymously to the media, accused political forces of orchestrating the entire series of events. “The BJP goons deliberately destroyed the Muslim family because of its political and social clout,” he added.
As communal tensions continue to simmer in India, many are left wondering that the state of justice and the treatment of minority communities mostly Muslims, Dalits, Sikhs and Christians in India nowhere seem. For now, the awards are given to communal policemen but the questions raised by social activists and concerned citizens linger unanswered.
