Bhopal: In a major breakthrough, three main accused in the Jan 2026 murder of Atiq Ahmed Sheikh, a resident of Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district, were arrested in Gujarat’s Surat, where they allegedly fled to evade the state police and were working as private security guards at a site for a Metro rail project. The accused — Akash Singh alias Saurabh Singh Rajput, Satyam Singh Rajput and Ajit Singh Rajput — were being brought to Rewa on a transit remand, even as two other accused remained absconding.In an incident that stoked tension in Rewa earlier this year, Atiq was brutally assaulted and left critically injured.Police said the attack took place near Rambagh crossing in Panawar police station area on Jan 27, when Atiq and his companions were allegedly stopped on the road and assaulted with sticks by the accused and their associates.He was initially rushed to a local hospital in UP’s Prayagraj, roughly about an hour’s drive from the Rambagh crossing in MP’s Panawar police station area. As his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to a hospital in Lucknow where he died during treatment.According to police, an FIR was registered on Jan 28 while Atiq was undergoing treatment in Prayagraj. However, the case was later converted into one of murder after his death.Thereafter, an SIT was put together by Rewa SP to probe the case.“About 10 days before the incident, a person had a dispute with Atiq over some petty issue. The man then brought the accused over to the scene to argue in his support. At this point, Atiq got into an altercation with the accused but the matter was temporarily defused. However, the accused nursed a grudge against Atiq and hatched a plan to bump him off. They attacked him ten days later, leaving him critically injured. He later succumbed during treatment in Lucknow,” Panawar police station in-charge Praveen Upadyay told TOI.“Three of the accused have been arrested in Surat and are being brought here amid the ongoing probe,” he added.Investigating officers said searches were ongoing to trace and nab the remaining accused, while the involvement of more people were also being looked into.
