Atiq killing 'tactic' to shift attention from Pulwama: Mehbooba Mufti

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday alleged Atiq Ahmad and his brother's killing in Uttar Pradesh was a "clever diversionary tactic" to shift attention from the "revelations" made by former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satyapal Malik about the Pulwama attack.

Malik, in an interview to a news portal, had claimed that there were lapses in security protocol that led to the February 2019 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

Mufti said in a tweet in Hindi, "Uttar Pradesh has slipped into anarchy and jungle raj. Cold blooded murders and lawlessness is being celebrated by rabid right wingers amidst slogans of Jai Shri Ram.

The People's Democratic Party chief added, "A clever diversionary tactic to shift attention from Satyapal Malik's damning revelations about the Pulwama attack and corruption."

Gangster-politician Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists in the middle of a media interaction on Saturday night while being escorted by police personnel to a medical college in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj for a checkup.