ABBOTTABAD: An accused in police custody was shot dead by his rival on the premises of the Havelian Judicial Complex here on Saturday.

The police had brought the accused, Zahid Khan alias Kalu, to the judicial complex to produce him in a court when his rival, who was already present in the court, opened fire at him, killing him on the spot. The attacker managed to escape.

The body was handed over to the heirs after postmortem at a hospital.

The deceased, Zahid Khan, was imprisoned in 2023 in the murder case of a person, Afsar Khan.

After the incident, president and general secretary of the district bar association expressed concern over the ‘lax’ security on the court premises, and urged the administration to take effective measures to ensure security of lawyers and litigants.

The bar association also announced to observe boycott of court proceedings on Monday (July 15).

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2024