Accused gunned down in front of courtroom

Lawyers concerned over lax security arrangements

LAHORE:

An accused was gunned down in front of a courtroom on Monday, raising concerns about inadequate security arrangements at District and Sessions Court.

The accused Muhammad Nawaz was visiting the sessions court for attending the hearing of his plea for pre-arrest bail in a case registered against him on charges of murdering his relative Javed over a property dispute. As the accused reached the front of the courtroom of Additional District and Sessions Judge Mian Muhammad Sharif, a man approached him suddenly and opened fire on him. Nawaz fell down, while the shooter easily managed to escape from the scene.

Police reached the spot after the incident. After a short while, CCPO Lahore Zulfiqar Hameed, SP city, DSP Islampura and other officials also arrived.

The CCPO directed the officials concerned to submit a report to him after completing an inquiry into the incident. The CCPO vowed that those responsible would be punished. Police officials started initial inquiry into the incident with the help of CCTV footage of the entrance or exit routes of the court where the man was gunned down.

DSP Islampura Sobay Khan told The Express Tribune that the inquiry was underway and those responsible would be brought to book. He said security arrangements had been made at the premises but if any loophole was found on the part of police officials deployed at the sessions court, they would be given exemplary punishment.

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The lawyers’ community also expressed concern over inefficiency of security officials deployed at the court. They said it was not the first such incident at the location and several such attacks had taken place earlier. They said security was beefed up after such incidents rather than taking appropriate measures to prevent them.

Advocate Mudasar Chaudhry said that police high-ups had been claiming sufficient security arrangements at the court but it was astonishing that such gory incidents could not be stopped. The steps to boost security are started after every such incident, he added.

In July last year, a man gunned down a handcuffed accused in the court premises. Panic spread among the lawyers and litigants as the assailant opened fire. Reportedly, Chung police had produced Nadeem Lodhi, who was arrested in a case of attempted murder, before a magistrate. The gunshots killed the accused on the spot and sent litigants rushing to take cover. The assailant, identified as Ali Haider, was arrested by police officials.

In a letter to the Lahore High Court registrar, Senior Civil Judge Dildar Shah had stated that “the incident is the result of a security lapse on the part of law enforcement agencies”.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2020.