KARACHI, June 23: Poor security arrangements for the city courts again came to light on Saturday when some men managed to enter the premises in a taxi and tried to kidnap a suspect.

Following the June 15 acid-throwing incident at the city courts which had left a litigant seriously injured, representatives of the Karachi Bar Association had expressed grave concerns over poor security arrangements. The district and sessions judge concerned had also ordered proper security at the entrances and issued directives to block the entry of all vehicles except those of judges.

However, court sources said that three to four men entered the city courts premises in a taxi from gate No 1 allegedly to kidnap a suspect, Asif Lodhi, who along with some others was booked in a rioting case registered at the Korangi Industrial Area police station.

They said that Asif came to the city courts in connection with the hearing of his case where the men in the taxi tried to forcibly take him away but some lawyers and other people present around foiled the attempt.

An official at the City Courts police station also confirmed the incident, but said that no case was lodged since the matter had been settled between both parties.

A comprehensive security plan was proposed for the city courts in February 2010 and the basic objective of the whole exercise was to restrict and monitor the entry of people and vehicles on the courts premises by installing walkthrough gates, surveillance cameras at the main entrances and increasing number of policemen. However, the KBA held the provincial authorities responsible for not implementing the plan.