On way to district court, lawyer shot dead by 3

ALLAHABAD: A 36-year-old lawyer with ties to Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) was shot dead by three men near Sonepur Madrassa Road, under the jurisdiction of Jethwara police station, in Pratapgarh district on Monday.
Police said the victim Om Mishra was a resident of Kalitpur.
Police said the Mishra was attacked around 11am, when he was on his way to the district court on his motorcycle.
As he reached near Sonepur Madarssa Road, two unidentified men riding a two-wheeler waylaid him and gunned him down, killing him on the spot.
Passersby alerted the police, who rushed to the spot to investigate.
DIG (Allahabad range) KP Singh said that two police teams had been constituted to crack the case.
He said that prima facie evidence showed that the assailants were aware of the victim’s daily routine.
Mishra was an office-bearer of VHP’s Pratapgarh kunda unit and also practised in the district court.
Local residents alleged that they had seen a man riding pillion with the lawyer and he had asked Mishra to stop the vehicle. They said the lawyer was shot seconds after he sopped. Passersby claimed that the man who was seen riding pillion also escaped with the attackers.
The DIG said that the police were yet to verify these claims as Mishra set out from his home alone according to his family members.
The DIG said the police teams were yet to ascertain why the district court lawyer was murdered.
The attack comes hours after a leather goods trader was shot at by three men late Saturday night in Derwa Bazaar, under the jurisdiction of Jethwara police station, in Pratapgarh.
Police said the victim Mumtaz (46) was sitting outside his shop, which was a part of his residence.
Eyewitness told the police that three men on a motorcycle approached Mumtaz and shot at him on point-blank range.