Jhansi: Aban Ahmad, the 20-year-old youngest son of slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad, and his friend were killed when their SUV crashed into a road divider in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district Thursday, police said.
Three other occupants of the vehicle were injured in the accident and are undergoing treatment at the Jhansi Medical College, they said.
Senior Superintendent of Police BBGTS Murthy told reporters that police received information around 10.30 am that an SUV had crashed into a road divider after the driver lost control.
“Two people died in the accident, while three others sustained injuries. The injured are undergoing treatment,” he said.
Aban’s friend who died in the accident was identified as 25-year-old Sonu, son of Raja, police said.
According to police, Aban, a resident of Prayagraj, was travelling to Jhansi to meet his two brothers, who are lodged in separate jails there.
Murthy said a preliminary inquiry suggested the SUV was being driven at a high speed.
“One of the injured passengers told us that the vehicle was moving at a very high speed and became uncontrollable before crashing into the divider,” he said.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Arvind Kumar said the accident took place around 10.30 am on the Kanpur-Jhansi Road in the Poonch area.
He identified the SUV as a Hyundai Creta bearing registration number UP 70 FW 2432.
The injured were Azam, 28, Mohammad Javed, 30, and Mohammad Umar, 24, all residents of Prayagraj, Kumar said.
Umar told reporters that they were on their way to a jail in Jhansi when the accident occurred.
“The car was travelling at a high speed, and the driver lost control,” the injured Umar, lying on a stretcher, said.
Asked whether Aban’s family had been informed, SSP Murthy said all necessary protocols were being followed, and senior officers were at the accident site.
Police officers said footage from CCTV cameras installed along the national highway would be examined as part of the investigation.
They are also probing whether the driver lost control after a wild animal suddenly came in front of the vehicle, though no conclusive findings have been reached so far.
Aban is expected to be laid to rest at Kasari Masari in Prayagraj, where other members of the family are also buried.
He was the youngest of Atiq Ahmad’s five sons and was slightly younger than his twin brother Ahjam. Of the five brothers, Umar and Ali are currently lodged in separate jails in Uttar Pradesh.
Another son, Asad Ahmad, who was wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case, was killed in a police encounter near Jhansi in April 2023. Umesh Pal was a key witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case, in which Atiq Ahmad was also an accused.
Atiq Ahmad’s wife Shaista Praveen, who is also an accused in the high-profile murder case, is absconding, according to police.
On April 15, 2023, Atiq Ahmad, 60, and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists while they were being escorted by police to a medical college in Prayagraj for a medical check-up.
The killings, carried out in full view of television cameras, drew nationwide attention.
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