The three assailants, who were arrested after shooting dead gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in Prayagraj, confessed to their crime on Sunday, adding that they did it to "become popular".

Days after Atiq Ahmed's son, Asad, was killed in an encounter in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi, the ganglord-turned-politician and his brother were killed on Saturday while being taken for a medical examination in Prayagraj.