On April 15, notorious gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were killed by three assailants. The incident happened within hours of The Wire publishing a propaganda interview with former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satyapal Malik in which he made several allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Soon after Atiq was killed, TMC leader Mahua Moitra and many others speculated he might have been killed to divert attention from Satyapal Malik’s interview.
In a tweet, Moitra said, “I can even believe BJP got UP shooting done simply to deflect attention away from Satyapal Malik’s interview repercussions. Nothing, just nothing, is beyond this government.”
NDTV reporter Samiran Mishra said, “Atiq Ahmed’s encounter has kicked the Satyapal Malik interview into oblivion. This is 2019 all over again in the banana republic.” However, despite being a journalist, Mishra misled his followers as it was not an encounter.
Congress supporter Shuja Gandhi said, “Don’t get distracted by Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf, focus on Satyapal Malik Ji. They’re trying to divert attention after his exposé.”
JK National Conference leader Umesh Talashi claimed media houses ignored Satyapal Malik’s interview but happily covered Atiq’s murder. He said, “Noida channels lost signals yesterday, otherwise, they would have debated on allegations leveled by #Satyapal_Malik. The bullet shots on Atiq & Ashraf restored the signals.”
Twitter user Avtar Badesha said, “Satyapal Interview exposing Modi Govt role during Pulwama. Diversion – Atiq Ahmad. Indian politics these days.”
Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Aminul Khan Suri said, “What a timing… When Satyapal Malik and Pulwama were catching fire, now the killers entered the tight security and killed Atiq. Godi media which was silent on Malik became super active on Atiq. The killing of a goon is a bigger news than the martyrdom of the soldiers.”
Propaganda magazine Caravan’s Hartosh Singh Bal said, “how do you change the narrative after the Malik interview? nothing is beneath them.”
Interestingly, Twitter user The Skin Doctor had already predicted such tweets soon after Atiq was murdered. He said, “Kal ye chalega. Satyapal Malik ke interview se Modi sarkar ki jadein hil gayi thi isliye usse dhyaan hatane ke liye Yogi se keh-kar Atiq Ahmed aur Ashraf Azeem ka gangwar ke bahane encounter karwaya gaya hai.” It appears the Twitter Army has become too predictable and it is not a “good sign” for them especially when General Elections are less than a year away now.
A different toolkit to blame Hindus for the murder is also active on social media. Details about it can be read here.
Atiq Ahmed’s son Asad and his associate were killed in an encounter a few days back. There were intelligence reports that his son could have attempted to set Atiq free by attacking his convoy to court.