LAHORE, July 23: A man accused of murder was injured when one of his rivals opened fire in the courtroom of an additional sessions judge here on Wednesday.

According to eyewitnesses, Umar Khalid was standing in the witness box at around 11:30am, when one Abdul Ghani Mirza, armed with a 30-bore pistol, opened fire. Two bullets hit Umar while another hit a person identified as Ghulam Shabbir who was standing near the witness box.

The judicial officer, Sardar Ahmad Naeem, his staff and the lawyers rushed to an adjacent room while the injured took refuge under the table of the presiding officer.

Some Elite Force officials who had brought a man to the court in connection with some other case arrested Mr Ghani and his associates, Yaqoob Beg and Khalid Beg. All three were identified as relatives of the complainant to the murder case and handed over to the officer in-charge of sessions court and then to Islampura police.

Umar was hit in the shoulder and Shabbir in the hand. Both were taken to hospital.

As the place resounded with shots, panic spread on sessions court premises. On hearing the shots, the Elite Force officials, present outside the courtroom of Sardar Ahmad Naeem, asked the people to lie down on the floor as they entered the courtroom to arrest the three assailants.

The security officials at the main entrance and Bakhshi Khana (judicial lock-up) as well as scores of litigants outside the adjacent courtrooms were seen running helter skelter yelling in panic. The family members of under-trial prisoners gathered in front of the lock-up where their relatives were detained, and started shouting for help. Judicial work temporarily came to a halt as the judges retired to their rooms.

Umar had been booked by the Chuhng police along with Mohammad Anwar, Pervez Dogar and Mohammad Akram on charges of murdering one Abdul Majeed over a property dispute in October, 2000. He had been an absconder till July 14, 2003, when he was granted pre-arrest bail. He had come to the court on Wednesday for getting his bail extended.

After the incident, District and Sessions Judge Akram Bitu arrived at the scene and was briefed by eyewitnesses. He held a meeting with office-bearers of the Lahore Bar Association and Lahore High Court registrar Sheikh Abdul Rashid.

The judge ordered that no civilian be allowed to enter the sessions court premises without being searched by security officials at the main entrance. He further directed the staff responsible for bringing the accused and the record to courtroom not to allow anybody to enter the courtroom during the hearing of murder cases except the lawyers, witnesses and the accused. All vehicles, except those of lawyers, would be parked outside the court premises.

The LBA gave a strike call for Thursday to protest against the incident, asking the DSJ to take strict action against the culprits and upgrade the security arrangements in subordinate courts.