The late gangster-turned-politicians attorney announced on Tuesday that a letter from Atiq Ahmad with orders to deliver it to the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and the chief justice of India in case of his death is being sent to them. "I neither sent nor have that letter in a sealed envelope. It is being sent by someone else and is held elsewhere. According to his attorney Vijay Mishra, I am unaware of the letter's contents. On Saturday night, while being escorted by police to a Prayagraj medical college for a checkup, Atiq Ahmad (60) and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at close range by three persons posing as journalists during a media encounter.

"Atiq Ahmad had said that the letter in the sealed envelope should be sent to the chief justice of India and the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh if there were any mishaps or if he was murdered," Mr. Mishra told PTI.

The brothers, who were imprisoned in Prayagraj, were slain in front of media teams while being handcuffed. The gruesome images were widely shared on social media sites and television networks. Just hours before the incident, Ahmad's son Asad had his final rites conducted here. Asad was shot dead by police on April 13 in Jhansi.

They were transported from prisons in Gujarat and Bareilly to Prayagraj for questioning about the shooting deaths of Umesh Pal and his two police protection guards earlier this year.

Ahmad had petitioned the Supreme Court for protection, stating that he and his family had been wrongly accused of being involved in the murder of Umesh Pal and that the Uttar Pradesh Police may kill him in a staged encounter.