Attackers dressed as women shoot at undertrial gangster in court complex

AT LEAST four armed assailants, two of them dressed as women, opened indiscriminate fire outside the Rohtak district courts complex Tuesday morning leaving one dead and six injured.

Gangster Ramesh Lohar was apparently the target of the attack. He was brought to the court for a hearing in an attempt to murder case. While two were on a motorbike, two to three were inside a car, police said, adding that exact number of assailants is yet to be ascertained. Two of the assailants were dressed as women, police added.

Theyescapedafterfiringnearly 16 rounds. The injured have been identifiedassandeep,sunderand Sunil who were accompanying Lohar to the court.

Anadvocate,manjityadav,suffered bullet injuries on his arm. Lohar’s feet were injured.

All were rushed to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences. The deceased has been identified as Sanjeet, a resident of Bhainswan village.

Policereachedthespotandcordonedthecomplex.thefunctioning of the court was disrupted for about half an hour. Police have questioned eyewitnesses.

An advocate, Joshi Ahlawat, practising in the Rohtak district courts, said, “Around 10.45-11 am, two armed persons opened fired. An advocate Manjit Yadav who was entering the courts complex sustained bullet injuries in his arm. First, they (assailants) fired at the entry gate of the courts complex. Then they moved towards a nearby SBI ATM counter and opened fire again aiming at a couple of persons who were being brought for their appearance in a court case. Both the assailants were wearing black kurtas and salwar and had their faces were covered with some kind of handkerchief”.

After preliminary investigation, police suspect the shooting to be a fallout of an ongoing gangwar between Lohar and his rival Naresh aka Kala, both residents of the same village — Bohar — in Rohtak district.

“Prima facie it appears a fallout of an ongoing gang war. We are finding out more details and trying to ascertain the identity of the assailants who opened fired. Police teams are conducting raids to nab the accused. Investigation in the case is on,” said Pankaj Nain, Superintendent of Police, Rohtak.

An FIR under has been filed under Sections 148, 149, 302, 307 of IPC and Arms Act.

In his statement to the police, Lohar said that when he was about to enter the court premises, along with four friends, Naresh along with his brother and another person came in a car, while two others who were riding a motorcycle started firing. He said that his friends and few others suffered injuries.