LAHORE: A man allegedly gunned down a handcuffed accused on the premises of the district courts in the presence of armed police personnel, lawyers and litigants on Wednesday.

The firing on the crowded premises of the district courts panicked those present there and created a stampede-like situation.

One of the police constables present there, however, overpowered the attacker who was later identified as Ali Haider and recovered from him the weapon used to kill the accused.

Witnesses said the police had brought Nadeem Rashid (25), from Camp Jail to produce him in a court in connection with a case lodged against him with Chuhng police in 2016 for shooting at and injuring one Ijaz Ahmad, brother of attacker Ali Haider.

A lawyer told media persons that Haider managed to enter the courts premises through the central gate of the deputy commissioner’s office while concealing his weapon in his clothes.

He said the suspect discretely followed the police personnel when they brought Nadeem from prison van to the courtroom for his production before the judge.

On finding an opportunity, he said, Haider fired three bullets at the handcuffed suspect, one hitting his head.

As a result, Nadeem fell on the ground with blood oozing out from his head.

Witnesses said no police personnel or lawyer tried to immediately shift the injured man to hospital, who after some time succumbed to the bullet wound.

He blamed poor security for such attacks on litigants and suspects on the courts premises, regretting that police had failed to check entry of armed people on courts premises resulting in such incidents.

The police high-ups, including Lahore operation wing Deputy Inspector General Asfhaq Ahmad Khan, reached the spot shortly after the incident.

Talking to the media, he deplored that most of the time the lawyers themselves refused to undergo security check at the entrance and offered strong resistance to the staff deployed there for the purpose, which was one of the major reasons for such incidents.

He lauded the police personnel who overpowered the armed attacker, risking his own life.

To a question, the DIG said the killing was an act of revenge as the deceased had allegedly injured the attacker’s brother, leaving him paralysed for life.

Quoting the attacker, the DIG said he (Haider) got frustrated by the lengthy litigation and decided to eliminate Nadeem. The body of the deceased was shifted to the city morgue for an autopsy following which a case will be lodged.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2019