PRAYAGRAJ: Members of the five-member judicial commission probing the murders of mafia- turned politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Khalid Azeem aka Ashraf recorded the statements of policemen on Thursday. The commission members are camping at the Circuit House.
Twenty-one policemen were on duty to escort Atiq and Ashraf from Dhumanganj police station to Motilal Nehru (Colvin) Divisional Hospital for a court mandated medical examination while in police custody remand, when the brothers were gunned down by three assailants on the night of April 15.
Some policemen were still to be questioned by the commission members, informed a senior police officer.
On the basis of available video footage of the assault, the judicial commission members cross -examined the statements of the policemen. They asked the policemen different questions which included their distance with Atiq and Ashraf while they were being escorted inside the hospital and who was behind or in front of them. The cops were asked if media persons were following the police vehicle or were present at the hospital and why they were not stopped from going near the mafia brothers. The questions included how the policemen responded after the sudden attack and who were the cops who overpowered the assailants.
Statements of some media persons who were left on Wednesday were also recorded. Three media persons from Delhi and Lucknow presented the events before the judicial commission. They informed that they were on coverage and were making video footage while asking questions when firing started. Some media persons who failed to turn up on Thursday have been asked to record their statements on Friday.
The judicial commission members are also cross-checking and matching the statements of media persons, hospital staff and policemen in a bid to unearth clues.