Gangster Shot Dead Outside UP Court, Attacker Was Dressed As Lawyer

A gangster was shot at and killed outside a courtroom in Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow, while a cop was shot in the leg, raising questions once again on the state of law and order in the state.

The shooter, say reports, was dressed as a lawyer.

Gangster Sanjiv Maheshwari, also known as Sanjiv Jeeva, who ran a criminal gang in western UP, was seen slumped on the ground with officials trying to stop bleeding from gunshot wounds, showed a video.

"The incident took place around 3:30 pm. He was shot in the back. Two of our policemen were also injured. They are out of danger. A woman and her child were also injured. Sanjeev Jeeva was taken to a hospital where doctors declared him dead," said Upendra Agarwal, Joint CP, Law and Order, Lucknow Police.

"The attacker has been arrested," the officer said, adding that the question of multiple atackers is under investigation.

Reports say the lawyers present at the court managed to hold on to one of the attackers and handed him over to the police.

The gangster, dressed in a green shirt and blue denims, was brought to a local court in Kaiserbagh area of the city and was shot at while he was entering the courtroom.

Sanjiv Jeeva had a dozen criminal cases against him and ran several criminal syndicates in the state. He had been in jail for many years, and reports say there were at least 50 criminal cases against him in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Some reports say he was also associated with eastern Uttar Pradesh gangsters like Mukhtar Ansari.

It is not clear how the attacker managed to sneak in a revolver and enter the court premises.

A three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the firing incident inside the Lucknow Civil Court, said the UP Chief Ministers Office (CMO).

The attack comes just two months after gangster Atiq Ahmed was shot dead while in police custody.