An Indian gangster-turned-politician has been shot dead on live television.
Atiq Ahmed, a former legislator jailed for kidnapping and facing murder charges, was killed alongside his brother Ashraf Ahmed.
The men were being escorted for a medical check-up in handcuffs at the time of the attack.
Both men were accosted by camera crews – and police say the gunmen who killed the pair had been masquerading as journalists.
Three people were arrested at the scene, with at least one of them chanting “Jai Shri Ram” or “Hail Lord Ram”, a slogan that has become a battle cry for Hindu nationalists in their campaign against Muslims.
Police officer Ramit Sharma said the gunmen got close to the brothers on the pretext of filming them and then shot them in the head at close range.
“It all happened in seconds,” he added.
The footage, which was broadcast live on local TV channels, showed someone pulling a gun close to Atiq Ahmed’s head.
As he collapsed, his brother was shot. The gunmen repeatedly fired at the men after both fell on the ground.
A police officer and news reporter were also injured in the attack in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
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Atiq Ahmed, 60, was elected as a state lawmaker four times and was also elected to India’s parliament in 2004.
He was jailed in 2019 after he was convicted of kidnapping a lawyer, Umesh Pal.
In February, Mr Pal was also killed. On Thursday, Atiq Ahmed’s teenage son and another man, both of whom were blamed for Mr Pal’s death, were killed by police in what was described as a shootout.
Two weeks earlier, Atiq Ahmed had petitioned the Indian Supreme Court for protection, saying there was an “open, direct and immediate threat to his life” from Uttar Pradesh officials.
The court refused to intervene and told his lawyer to approach the local state court.
Uttar Pradesh has been governed by India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2017.
Since then, more than 180 people facing criminal charges have been killed in so-called “police encounters”, which rights groups say are often extrajudicial killings.
The killings of the brothers have been condemned by opposition politicians who claim the government in Uttar Pradesh is soft on crime.
One politician, Akhilesh Yadav, tweeted: “When someone can be killed by firing openly amidst the security cordon of the police, then what about the safety of the general public?
“Due to this, an atmosphere of fear is being created among the public; it seems that some people are deliberately creating such an atmosphere.”
