A woman was injured in a shooting incident at a court complex in Delhi this morning, police said, adding that the woman was immediately rushed to hospital by a police officer present there. The suspect, who was dressed as a lawyer, escaped through the back door of the cafeteria and an attempt is being made to arrest him, the police officer added.
The incident took place at Saket court in South Delhi.
The woman was in court for a hearing in a case related to a financial dispute when a person shot her, a senior police officer said.
According to news agency ANI, four shots were fired.
According to preliminary reports, the accused, a lawyer by profession but currently suspended by the Bar Association, had filed a fraud charge against the woman and a lawyer at Saket police station in July 2022. had claimed that the woman took Rs 25 lakh from him and promised high returns.
“The suspect had arrived at the court this morning disguised as a lawyer. He shot at the woman when she was discussing the matter with her lawyer. He escaped through the back door of the kitchen,” police officials said.
The incident comes days after a lawyer in Dwarka in southwest Delhi was shot dead by two men on a bicycle. The attackers had posed as lawyers to enter the court.
In the aftermath of the murder, a petition was filed with the Delhi High Court to demand the safety of legal professionals. The petitioners stated that their concerns for their own safety have been “exacerbated by seeing the images and videos of the cold-blooded murder of an influential and senior member of the bar association” and if the “lawyer protection bill” is not passed in Delhi, the brutality of criminals to commit crimes against lawyers will increase.
There has been an alarming increase in incidents of violence inside the courthouse in the national capital.
On September 24 last year, two gunmen dressed as lawyers fired multiple bullets at mobster Jitender Maan alias Gogi in a courtroom in Rohini. Police personnel retaliated and allegedly killed the two on the spot.
In April last year, after a scuffle between two lawyers and their only client, there was a shooting incident at the Rohini court. According to the police, an officer of the Nagaland Armed Police (NAP) deployed to the court opened fire on the ground.
