Sunny Singh (Atiq Ahmed’s Killer)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sunny Singh

• Sunny Singh is an Indian criminal who rose to notoriety by murdering Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf Ahmed, the mafia-turned-politician brothers, in full public view in Prayagraj. Allegedly, he is a member of the Rohit Yadav and Sundar Bhati’s gang.

• He displayed spurts of aggression since his childhood and was bellicose as a child.

• After his father died in 2003, his mother worked at local functions and weddings as a cook to raise the family.

• His eldest brother Mangal Singh later became an alcoholic, sold his agricultural land, and died in 2020.

• His elder brother Pintu Singh owns a restaurant in the Manki Stand area of Hamirpur.

  

• He started gambling after he dropped out of his school and often used to steal from his brother’s restaurant. When his brother came to know about this, he banned Sunny from entering his restaurant and house.

  

• Sunny could not digest this embarrassment and moved to Bengaluru and started working as a labour. He came back to Hamirpur with Rs 20,000 which he later lost in gambling.

• He also worked as a vendor at a tea shop and as a truck cleaner.

• The first FIR was registered against him in 2016 when he robbed silver and gold jewellery from a couple near Mishripur village of Kurara in Hamirpur, who were travelling by bike.

• He later became a member of the Rohit Yadav gang and started doing petty criminal activities with other gang members.

• During a burglary, he got involved in a gunfight with the police. He was arrested and sent to jail.

• When he was out on bail, he got into an argument with Kurara’s Patara village resident Babu Yadav and fired at him; however, Babu ducked and did not get hit.

• In 2021, he was lodged in Hamirpur Jail where he met the dreaded gangster Sundar Bhati who is a notorious figure in West UP.

• Some police officials claimed that he became a member of the Bhati gang; however, both had a scuffle on 30 May 2022 following which both were transferred to separate jails.

• On the night of 15 April 2023, around 10:30 pm, Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf Ahmed were going for a medical checkup at MLN Medical College in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, and when both were speaking to media persons, Sunny and his two aides named Lovelesh Tiwari of Banda and Arun Maurya of Kasganj shot them dead.

  

• The killer trio posed as journalists, and more than 30 rounds were fired from Turkiye-made Girsan and Jigana pistols, which cost more than Rs 6-8 lakhs each and are banned in India. ^[1]ABP News

• They fired at the mafia brothers from close range and fired at them until they both died on the spot. Allegedly, Sunny was the first shooter who shot at Ashraf Ahmed.

• Police also recovered a dummy camera, a mic with the label NCR News, and a bike which was allegedly stolen.

• When they lied down on the ground as the police officials apprehended them, they chanted Jai Sri Ram and Surrender. ^[2]Hindustan Times

  

• During the initial interrogation after the arrest, he and two other killers confessed to killing the gangster brothers in a bid to become famous and a known name in the crime world.

• The autopsy conducted on Atiq and Ashraf divulged 8 and 6 bullet injuries respectively which hit the critical organs of the body and caused instant death.

• Later, during the investigation, it was revealed that they got paid Rs 3 crores for the murders.

  

• An FIR was registered under sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC against the killers.

• As soon as the news of the murders was flashed on TV screens, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held an emergency meeting with top police officials at his residence.

• Section 144 was imposed on Uttar Pradesh, and the internet was suspended for three days in Prayagraj to avoid any conflict.

• 17 policemen who were tasked with the protection of the Ahmed brothers were suspended with immediate effect.

• Sunny and his accomplices were sent to 14 days of judicial custody, and on 17 April 2023, they were transferred to Pratapgarh District Jail. ^[3]Times Now

• Sunny Singh is an expert in shooting with his left hand.

• His brother Pintu talked to the media after the murders and said that Sunny was jobless and had no contact with them.

• Some media reports claimed that he got pistols from Meerut resident Sodhi who was also a member of the Bhati gang. It was alleged that Sundar Bhati might have had a hand in the murders.

• There were rumours that Sunny was influenced by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who was named in Sidhu Moose Wala‘s murder and wanted to make a name for himself by killing a known person.

• One of his friends said while talking to media that Sunny told him a few days before executing the killings that he was about to do something big which would make him very famous.