Lawyer shot dead in UP court

FOUR COPS HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED FOR SECURITY LAPSE IN THE DISTRICT COURT

LUCKNOW: A 40-year-old lawyer was shot dead by a colleague at Shahjahanpur district court in Uttar Pradesh over an old rivalry on Monday, police said. The accused was later arrested and four policemen were suspended for a security lapse, they added.

According to Shahjahanpur superintendent of police (SP) S Anand, advocate Bhupendra Pratap Singh was shot dead by advocate Surendra Kumar Gupta at 11.40am when Singh visited the record room on the second floor of the complex in connection with a case.

Eyewitnesses said they rushed to the room after a gunshot was heard and found Singh in a pool of blood. The accused fled the spot, the SP said.

“A countrymade .315 bore pistol was also found near the body. We have sent the body for a postmortem examination and formed a team to investigate the case,” he added. Gupta, however, was detained from outside his house at 2pm after police ascertained his role with the help of

CCTV footage. He was arrested after he confessed to the crime. A forensic field unit was also called at the site.

“Gupta has confessed to the crime... Singh had filed two dozen cases against the accused which prompted him to take the drastic step,” the SP said.

An FIR under sections 302 (murder) and 120 b (criminal conspiracy) was also registered against the accused lawyer at Sadar Bazar police station.

Taking strong exception to a serious crime such as murder on the court premises, four police personnel, including an inspector, were placed under suspension, assistant superintendent of police (city) Sanjay Kumar said.

As a mark of protest, the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh announced that lawyers across the state will abstain from work on Wednesday.