UP Bar Council Chief Shot Dead In Agra Court 2 Days After Her Election

Uttar Pradesh Bar Council president Darvesh Yadav was shot dead allegedly by a fellow-advocate while she was attending an event on the Agra district court premises on Wednesday, two days after she was elected to the position. The attacker, identified as Manish Sharma, then shot himself with his licensed pistol. 

Police told NDTV that although both were taken to the Pushpanjali Multispeciality Hospital in the city, Ms Yadav died soon afterwards. Manish Sharma has been hospitalised in a critical condition.

According to sources, Manish Sharma allegedly shot Ms Yadav three times while she was attending her welcome ceremony in the bar council chambers around 2:30 pm. Police are trying to ascertain the motive behind his action.

Tensions rose in the region after the incident occurred, with advocate groups threatening to launch protests from today. The Bar Council of India has called for one-day mourning in Uttar Pradesh to pay their respects to the murdered advocate.

This was Ms Yadav's first visit to the court after her election. News agency PTI quoted witnesses as saying that Manish Sharma suddenly stood up in the middle of the ceremony and opened fire at her. Then, before the others could recover, he shot himself. 

Ms Yadav, who belongs to Etah, had created history of sorts on Monday by becoming the first woman to be elected as the president of the Uttar Pradesh Bar Council. Police said Ms Yadav's relatives, including a sister who works as a police officer in Muzaffarnagar, have been informed of the incident. The victim's body has been sent for a post-mortem examination.

The Bar Council of India condemned the murder and demanded a minimum compensation of Rs 50 lakh for her family from the Uttar Pradesh government. It also demanded that the administration ensure the safety of its members, news agency ANI reported.

The incident provoked many political reactions on social media, some of whom slammed the Yogi Adityanath government. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav attributed the incident to the "deteriorating" law-and-order situation in Uttar Pradesh, and said that even "upholders of the law are not safe".

Rapes, murders and political killings are increasing at an alarming rate. The CM is chairing meetings upon meetings but the law and order situation is only deteriorating.

Now the first woman head of the bar council of Agra has been shot. Even upholders of the law are not safe.

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) June 12, 2019

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, who had fought the recent Lok Sabha elections in alliance with Akhilesh Yadav, also commented on the matter. "The murder of newly elected Uttar Pradesh Bar Council president Darvesh Yadav is sad and highly condemnable. This, coupled with the assault of journalists by the police in Shamli, goes to prove that the chaos and 'jungle raj' under the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has only increased after the general polls," she tweeted in Hindi.

The Shamli incident involved the alleged abuse suffered by a journalist at the hands of the Uttar Pradesh police while he was covering a train derailment yesterday night. 

(With inputs from Agencies)