A lawyer was shot dead at his office in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad on Wednesday. The lawyer - Monu Chaudhary - was in his chambers, which is inside the district court complex, and eating when two men burst in and opened fire. Mr Chaudhary's blood-covered body was found slumped in the chair.
A case was filed with the Sihani Gate Police Station and the investigation is ongoing, as part of which a forensic team gathered evidence and the body has been sent for post-mortem.
In addition, security footage from CCTV cameras installed across the court premises are being secured, Nipun Agarwal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (City), told NDTV.
Preliminary information indicates Mr Chaudhary was shot dead at 2 pm. The attackers reportedly arrived on foot and fled after committing the crime
The killing comes as legal practitioners across western UP went on a 24-hour strike today to protest the clash between lawyers and police in the state's Hapur region. In anticipation of further clashes police had been deployed at all court and tehsil complexes in the state.
However, the fact that armed men broke through this security cordon, murdered Mr Chaudhary and then escaped has led to questions being asked of the police.
After news of the gruesome murder, scores of lawyers gathered around the crime scene and soon protests broke out as Mr Chaudhary's colleagues demanded justice. At the time of the attack other lawyers were meeting to chalk out their strategy on the Hapur issue.
Hapur Lawyers Protest
On Tuesday the Hapur Bar Association staged a protest over an allegedly false case against a lawyer and her father. Tensions escalated as police resorted to lathi-charge against lawyers.
AdvertisementThe Supreme Court Bar Association hit out at the police action and said advocates protesting peacefully against the alleged high-handedness of the police was a violation of their rights.
With input from PTI
