Prayagraj, May 1 (IANS): Charges have been framed against three killers of slain gangster Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf in the Court of Additional Sessions Judge.

Three accused, who are presently lodged in Chitrakoot jail, appeared through video conferencing before the court.

After framing of charges, Additional Sessions Judge Dinesh Gautam fixed May 2 for recording of evidence.

District government counsel (criminal), Gulab Chandra Agrahri, appeared for the prosecution side.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had on July 13, 2023, submitted a charge sheet against three assailants, who were accused of having gunned down gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf on April 15, 2023.

The three accused against whom the charge sheet was submitted were Lavlesh Tiwari, 22, Mohit Singh a.k.a. Shani, 23, and Arun Maurya, 18.

The SIT, which was constituted to investigate this murder case, submitted a charge sheet before the Chief Judicial Magistrate after completing its investigation under Section 302 (murder) and several other sections of the Indian Penal Code and Arms Act.

At one stage, the SIT team had taken the trio into police remand to question them over the murders of Atiq and Ashraf to collect all possible evidence.

The three accused had allegedly shot dead the brothers on April 15 night when they were being taken for a medical examination at Colvin hospital of Prayagraj as a mandatory legal requirement.