RAWALPINDI, Nov 12: In what is being termed a major security lapse by some and a well-planned attack by the police, three under-trial handcuffed alleged murderers and a passer-by were shot dead while another person was injured after their rivals targeted them on the strictly-guarded district court premises here on Saturday.

The four attackers managed to escape from the scene. At first, they snatched a motorcycle at gunpoint from outside the court premises and then hijacked a taxi to escape toward Morgah. Police, however, claimed to have caught three of the accused and said hunt for the fourth was underway. City Police Officer (CPO) Azhar Hameed Khokhar acknowledged a security lapse, and said 10 policemen guarding the prisoners had been suspended and more would be punished after conducting an inquiry into the incident.

The CPO was, however, jubilant over the arrest of three of the attackers and attributed it to the good work by the Morgah police.

The three under-trial prisoners involved in a triple-murder case registered with the Waris Khan police were brought to the district court from Adiala jail at around 10:30am for the proceedings of their two separate cases being tried in the court of additional district and sessions judge Chaudhry Amjad Nazeer and civil judge Ismail Tasleem.

Chaudhry Shaukat Ali, his brother Chaudhry Arshad Ali and their nephew Chaudhry Ghalib alias Mithu were brought to the court in an armoured personnel carrier (APC) amid tight security as they were considered 'dangerous prisoners' who had been facing life threats and needed extra security.

“Seven to eight policemen were guarding the prisoners when the attackers opened fire on them from a close range, killing the three and a passer-by identified as Iqbal,” the CPO said.

He added that the policemen guarding the prisoners didn't retaliate only because of the presence of a large number of people around them.

Since entry into the district court premises, where the incident took place, was conditional to security clearance, the police sources told Dawn that the person responsible for taking weapons inside the guarded area was assumed to be a woman who might have defied security clearance and slipped into the guarded area.

“It is to be investigated that how the weapons were brought inside as nobody was allowed entry without a security check in the morning. Whoever is found guilty of security lapse would be punished,” the CPO said.

It is pertinent to mention that the three killed in the attack were arrested by Waris Khan police for murdering Mohammad Shafeeq alias Sheikh Papu, Sadaqat Khan alias Kala Khan and Mushtaq Khan on September 27, 2009.

Chaudhry Shaukat Ali, his brother Chaudhry Arshad and their nephew Ghalib had been nominated as murderers by Nawaz Khan, the brother of Sadaqat Khan, and subsequently they were arrested.

Abdul Waheed, 41, who was injured in the attack, told Dawn from the hospital bed that he was coming out of the court along with his relatives when their rivals, who were wearing jackets and shawls, appeared on the scene and opened fire on them.

The survivor said: “When the attackers opened fire, the policemen guarding the under-trial prisoners escaped from the scene leaving the handcuffed men behind. It all was done in connivance with the police because it was for the first time that the prisoners facing life threats from their rivals were brought out of the APC against the past practice.”

Earlier, an attempt to murder the three inside the Adiala jail by smuggling weapons into the premises had been foiled by the jail authorities, he added.

Azhar Hameed Khokhar, the CPO, while talking to Dawn said a sub-inspector who was leading the security men had requested the judge for remand custody of the accused without producing them in the court as he was reluctant to bring them out of the APC. “However, he had no other option except obeying the judge's order to produce the accused in the court,” he added.

The CPO said the motive behind the incident was 'old enmity' between the two rival groups.

During off-time, they managed to bring weapons into the court premises and acted on their plan when they got a chance. The police handed over the bodies to their families after conducting the postmortem. A murder case was registered with the Civil Lines police against the accused.

The murder of four people inside the district court premises sparked panic among the lawyers who took out a rally and staged a demonstration in front of the City Police Officer office.

The protesting lawyers chanted slogans against the CPO and demanded that security should be ensured for them. Later, the protesters dispersed peacefully.