Shahjahanpur: A lawyer was shot dead allegedly by another on the district court premises here Monday afternoon. It happened over an old rivalry. Immediately after the incident, four cops were suspended for negligence, police said. The victim, Bhupendra Singh (58), had filed two dozen cases against Suresh Gupta. Upset over this, Gupta allegedly killed him, they said. Taking strong exception to a serious crime like murder on the court premises, four police personnel, including an inspector, have been placed under suspension, Assistant Superintendent of Police (City) Sanjay Kumar said.
Advocate Bhupendra Singh of Jalalabad tehsil had gone to the third-floor office of ACJM-I of the district court in the afternoon to meet a clerk in connection with some case when a gunshot was heard and he was found dead.
Quoting the clerk Singh had gone to meet, SP S Anand had earlier said that an illegal 315 bore pistol was found near the body.
A case of murder was registered against advocate Suresh Kumar Gupta and his two sons Gaurav and Ankit. The accused advocate has been arrested, the police said.
Advocates in the district had launched an indefinite strike, demanding the killer’s immediate arrest. Bar Association general secretary Aneet Kumar Trivedi, who had led the protest, said that since the accused has been arrested, the organisation would meet at 11.00am Tuesday to decide on further course of action.
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Meanwhile the Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over the incident.
“The legal and judicial fraternity is an integral pillar of our democracy. The brutal murder of an advocate in broad daylight in court premises in Shahjahanpur is another chilling reminder that no one is safe in today”s UP – not women, not farmers and now not advocates,” Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said Uttar Pradesh has become number one in the country in ‘ease of doing crime’ under the BJP. BSP president Mayawati said the incident exposed the BJP government’s tall claims over law and order in the state.
The lawyers who sat on a dharna at the Khirni Bagh intersection of the district have demanded a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family of the deceased, and an investigation into the case by a senior police official.