On December 22, a 22-year-old in Banda, Uttar Pradesh, posted on Facebook. “Jai Shri Ram,” he said, writing in Hindi: “People in front of whom I don’t bow down do not like me. Those who like me never ask me to bow.”

As with most of his posts, he got a few hundred likes, a handful of comments, and moved on. Four months later, on April 15, the post blew up on social media – it got 11,000 likes and 12,000 comments in the course of hours. 

“Brother, you are Bhagat Singh,” said one comment in Hindi. 

“Hindus are not made lions, they are born as lions,” said another. 

A third heralded the original poster as “Hinduhriday samrat” – the king of Hindu hearts.

This newly-earned fame is because the writer of the post, Luvlesh Tiwari, is one of three people arrested on April 15 for the murders of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf that night. The brothers had been in police custody, escorted to a hospital for a medical checkup in Prayagraj when they were shot dead.

Luvlesh, Arun Maurya and Sunny Singh voluntarily turned themselves in at the scene of the crime. On April 16, they were remanded to 14 days in judicial custody. On April 19, they were remanded to four days’ police custody.

Multiple news reports have pointed to Luvlesh’s chequered past – he was arrested for “slapping” a girl, he was once booked for assault – but residents of his rundown neighbourhood, Kyotara mohalla in Banda, are shocked that he turned alleged killer.

“His parents were simple people,” said a neighbour, requesting anonymity. “They never had a problem with anybody in the locality. I have seen Luvlesh since he was a child. He was a reserved boy. None of us are able to believe that he killed Atiq Ahmed.”

Wandering the narrow lanes of Kyotara, Newslaundry pieced together Luvlesh’s story. His father used to drive a government bus but lost his job during the Covid pandemic. He now drives a school bus. He is the third of four brothers – the first is a sanyasi, the second works in Lucknow as a pujari, and the youngest is a BA student.

Luvlesh, who is unemployed, lived with his parents and younger brother in a rented house. A lock now hangs on the red iron door.

“This whole lane was occupied by police and media after the incident,” said a woman who lives on the same lane. “The police were at the door of the house the entire time, I saw them sitting there through the night too. The next morning, the house was locked. The police and the family were gone. We don’t know where.”

What did she know of Luvlesh?

“He was a decent boy,” she said. “He just kept things to himself.”

This claim of “decency” was echoed by Kamal Singh, a resident of the mohalla. “Luvlesh behaved decently in the neighbourhood,” he told Newslaundry. “He never fought with anyone ever here.”

“He was a simple chap,” said Satyendra Singh, another neighbour. “He was very regular at the temple and for religious rituals. I think he was in the wrong company.”

A police record

But Luvlesh does have a police record. Two cases were filed against him in 2021. Satyadev Tripathi, a lawyer who represented Luvlesh in both cases, told Newslaundry what had happened.

“In the first case, he had an accident with a girl. He was on a motorcycle and the girl was on a bicycle,” Satyadev alleged. “Both collided. The girl abused him verbally and he slapped her. He was booked for outraging the modesty of a woman.”

However, Indian Express reported that in 2020, Luvlesh’s friend “passed lewd comments at a minor girl who rebuked them”. Luvlesh “slapped” her and the girl’s family filed a complaint. Luvlesh was then “booked under the POCSO Act” and jailed for a month.

While Newslaundry does not have a copy of the FIR in the matter, Satyadev alleged this is the same 2021 case and that these details are incorrect. “It was not a case of POCSO,” he said. “POCSO trial takes place in a session court. No one gets bailed out in a day. He was booked under section 354 for slapping the girl.”

Express had confirmed these details with the Kotwali Nagar station house officer. The SHO, Sandeep Tiwari, told Newslaundry, “It was a case of POCSO but I don’t remember exactly in which year. Maybe 2020 or 2021.”

The second case involved a “protest” led by Luvlesh against the murder of a 14-year-old, the son of a local BJP leader, in Banda. Satyadev said Luvlesh and “200 other boys” protested against then BJP MLA Prakash Dwivedi, alleging he was trying to “cover up” the case. Luvlesh allegedly clashed with the MLA’s supporters and was booked for assault. 

“He was in jail for a week and then got bail,” said Satyadev. “Both cases were registered at Kotwali police station.” Dwivedi would later demand justice for the boy’s parents.

Betrayed by Bajrang Dal

What does Satyadev think about the crime, since Luvlesh voluntarily turned himself in?

“He is a very dignified person, he’s very concerned about his self-respect,” said Tripathi obliquely. “If he feels that someone is disrespecting him, he will make sure to retaliate. Even if he gets beaten up, he will retaliate. He was unemployed and would often just hang around with his friends. He felt proud to project himself as a Brahmin and used to say it’s a revered community. He revered Ravan as he was a Brahmin, and Lord Parashuram.”

This love for Ravan is obvious, since Luvlesh and his friends used to call themselves Ravan Sena, a name selected by one Anand Mishra three years ago. 

Importantly, friends and neighbours said he was a member of the Bajrang Dal, a Hindu nationalist group, but the group has now “disowned” him.

“They disowned him after this incident,” said Gorakhpur Tripathi, a former assistant coordinator of the Bajrang Dal in Banda. “They claim Luvlesh never worked for them but the reality is totally different. He’s been associated with them since the age of 15. He was so dedicated he would work for its programmes without even going home for four or five days.”

But Chandramohan Bedi, the head of the Bajrang Dal in Banda, said, “Luvlesh was never a member of the Bajrang Dal. Five or six years, he may have attended a programme or two. But he was not a member nor was he an office-bearer.”

Gorakhpur isn’t buying it. “The organisation’s officebearers would tell us to beat Vidharmis,” he said, referring to Muslims. “And now they have shown their true colours by disowning Luvlesh.”

Jeetu Tiwari, who has been friends with Luvlesh since they were children, also alleged Luvlesh “gave so many years of his life” to the Bajrang Dal. He was allegedly given the post of sah-suraksha pramukh.

“And they just disowned him at the drop of a hat. It hurts,” he said. “We both joined it together and attended various training camps of the Bajrang Dal at Fatehpur and Kanpur. Whether it was a baithak, shobha yatra or bike rally organised by Bajrang Dal, Luvlesh was present. We recently even organised a tiranga rally.”

He continued, “Whenever big leaders would attend these programmes, we were told in advance to gather a large number of boys, to gather a crowd. Without a thought, Luvlesh and I would follow these orders. A local Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader used to take Luvlesh’s help to organise crowds. He’s posed for photos with him. Now he’s claiming that ‘anyone can take a selfie and post on Facebook’.”

Jeetu refused to name this leader. But he said he’s decided to “resign from Bajrang Dal from my post as jila sanyojak” – referring to the post of district coordinator.  

“An organisation that can’t stand with its devoted members is good for nothing,” he added.

‘Poor’ family and media misreporting 

Both Satyadev and Jeetu said Luvlesh grew up in financial straits.

“His family’s financial condition was never good,” said Jeetu. “They’ve been living in a rented house for many years. But Luvlesh was large-hearted. Even if he had only Rs 20 in his pocket, he wouldn’t shy away from spending it on his friends.”

Satyadev agreed that Luvlesh’s family was “poor”. The father was allegedly the sole earning member, making about Rs 8,000 a month. Satyadev said Luvlesh hadn’t even been able to arrange for Rs 10,000 in 10 days when the lawyer represented him in the 2021 cases. 

“So it’s not possible that he bought a Turkish pistol for Rs 7-8 lakh on his own,” he said, referring to news reports that the Ahmeds’ killers purportedly used expensive Zigana pistols. “The boy doesn’t even have a bank account. He lived hand to mouth. He has been trapped in this case, he’s a pawn.”

Though unemployed at the time of Atiq’s killing, Luvlesh had frequently made efforts to find work and make money. Jeetu said Luvlesh briefly worked in Kanpur two years ago as a helper in an auto parts shop. He also occasionally worked at sand mines in Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh.

“Lots of boys from Banda are in the sand mining business in Balaghat,” said Satyadev. “They need daring people for security purposes and employ local boys from Banda. These boys go there whenever required and then come back. Luvlesh went a couple of times, he earned Rs 3,000 or Rs 4,000 for 15 to 20 days of work.”

Jeetu and Satyadev are upset with the media for “misreporting” details on Luvlesh’s past.

“Some media channels reported that Luvlesh had strained relations with his family,” said Satyadev. “It’s an absolute lie. He was very much connected with his parents and siblings. Yes, his father was annoyed when he slapped that girl. But his father was worried and used to tell him not to indulge in such activities.”

Jeetu said, “The media says he’s a drug addict. He was never a drug addict. Yes, he drinks occasionally with friends. He was a devotee of Lord Shiva and would smoke marijuana once in a blue moon. But he was never addicted to anything. He was very helpful. He would consider his friends as his family.”

When did they last meet Luvlesh?

“I met him two days before Atiq’s killing at Sankat Mochan temple,” Tripathi said. “He met me in the evening, wished me, and touched my feet. He was very regular at that temple. He was a religious boy. He used to play dholak for kirtans, helped in cleaning the temple once or twice a day. His assistance was a routine affair.”

Jeetu last met Luvlesh at a friend’s birthday party on April 9.

“He was staying a bit aloof at the party. He was on the phone most of the time,” he recalled. “Even when we took photos, he stood alone on the phone. I thought of asking him later if everything was fine. If I’d had the slightest clue, I would never have let him get involved in this.”

He said Luvlesh was “not a criminal like that boy from Hameerpur” – referring to co-accused Sunny Singh, who purportedly has connections to a “gang”.

“I can confidently say he never knew those two from before,” Jeetu added. “On April 13 and 14, I tried calling him twice but his phone was off. A day later, this incident happened.”

‘The whole incident is suspicious’

Thirty km from Banda, a pall of gloom has descended upon Lohmer, Luvlesh’s family’s ancestral village. His grandmother lives here now and the family has a seven-acre farm.

Until April 17, there was heavy police deployment in Lohmer too.

“The police were here for two days outside Luvlesh’s grandmother’s house,” said Anmol Tiwari, a resident of Lohmer. “Then there was a lock on her house and both the police and grandmother disappeared.”

Does Anmol know Luvlesh? “He came here for Holi,” he said. “He was a nice fellow and very respectful to elders.”

Villagers are disquieted about Luvlesh’s arrest. A villager named Shivmohan Tiwari subscribed to Satyadev’s theory that Luvlesh was a “pawn”.

“Whoever used these kids to kill Atiq has spoiled their lives forever,” he said. “Now their lives will always be in danger. How can a boy who doesn’t even have Rs 50 in his pocket buy a pistol for Rs 7 lakh? The whole incident is suspicious.”

Heeraman Tiwari, another villager, said, “Whenever he would visit, he would live very decently. He wanted to do something big in life. But I didn’t think he’d do something like this. He was a daring boy. Either he will be killed by those who made him do this, or he will be killed by Atiq’s men.”

Munna Tiwari remembered Luvlesh as being “a little wayward”. “But not a criminal,” he said emphatically. “Nobody would’ve imagined he would kill a criminal like Atiq Ahmed. But I don’t think he, or the other boys, will survive for long.”