Lawyer shot dead in court complex in UP's Shahjahanpur, accused held

LUCKNOW: A lawyer was shot dead on the premises of Shahjahanpur district court here on Monday afternoon over personal enmity. 

The police arrested the assailant within four hours of the incident. The accused had admitted to his crime, said a source.

According to SP S Anand, advocate Bhupendra Singh, 38, of Jalalabad tehsil had gone to the third-floor office of ACJM-I of the district court to meet a clerk in connection with some case when he received a gunshot on his head and died on the spot.

The SP quoted the clerk whom the victim had gone to meet as saying that an illegal 315 bore pistol was found lying near Bhupendra’s body. Since no one else was present on the spot, the cops initially focused the probe on ascertaining whether it was a murder or suicide, the SP said.

Later, after the probe, the police could nab the assailant Suresh Gupta, also a lawyer practising in the same court. 

The police sources confirmed that Suresh killed Bhupendra owing to animosity. The victim had filed a number of cases against assailant Suresh.

The police sources said Suresh Gupta was arrested and booked under Section 302 and 120 B of IPC. They also claimed that the accused admitted to his crime.

Earlier, the advocates in the district had launched an indefinite strike, demanding the killer’s immediate arrest. The Congress, SP, and BSP attacked the state government over the incident.

BSP president Mayawati said it exposed the BJP government’s tall claims over law and order in the state. “The murder of a lawyer on the court premises of Shahjahanpur district of UP in broad daylight is very sad and shameful. It exposes the law and order situation under the BJP government. The question arises as to who is safe in UP. The government should pay proper attention to this," she said in a tweet in Hindi.