A former Indian politician and his brother were killed in a live television broadcast while they were talking to journalists under police guard during their transfer from prison, handcuffed, to the hospital for a medical examination.

Atiq Ahmed was shot in the head in the city of Prayagraj, and a video clip documenting the incident circulated, showing Ahmed and his brother Ashraf when they were shot.

After the incident, three men pretending to be journalists surrendered quickly and were detained.

Over the past two decades, the former politician had been pursued in several cases, including kidnapping, murder, and extortion. Last March, a local court sentenced him to life imprisonment in a kidnapping case.

Ahmed was also responding to a question about whether he had attended the funeral of his son, who was killed by police gunfire days earlier, replying, "They did not take us, so we did not go," which were his last words before he was shot dead live on television.

Following the incident that occurred on Saturday evening, the Indian Prime Minister ordered a judicial investigation into the killings and banned large gatherings in the areas of Uttar Pradesh state to ensure peace.

Ahmed spent a long time both in politics and the criminal world. He was first accused in a murder case in 1979. In the following ten years, he appeared as a person with strong influence in the western part of Allahabad city.

Last month, the Supreme Court of India refused to hear Ahmed's petition in which he claimed that the police were threatening his life.

More than 180 people facing various charges have been killed by the police in the state over the past six years.

Human rights activists accuse the police of carrying out extrajudicial killings, which the state government denies.