Ex-councillor Qureshi, accused in the Bijainagar blackmail case, assaulted in court by lawyers

Jaipur: Former councillor Hakim Qureshi, an accused in the Bijainagar blackmail case, was allegedly assaulted by lawyers on Monday when he was produced in a special court in Ajmer.

Qureshi, who has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, was produced before the special POCSO court of magistrate Rajiv Badlani who sent him to judicial custody till March 11.

As Qureshi came out of the court after the hearing, several lawyers slapped, kicked and punched him. Some lawyers were seen climbing the tables and chairs, and raining punches on him.

Police tried to intervene without much success. Some policemen stumbled and fell down in the chaos before taking him out to safety after much struggle.

Earlier, he was remanded to five-day police custody on February 27 in connection with a case of alleged sexual exploitation of girls and forcing them to convert, a senior police officer said.

He was produced in the court on Monday after the expiry of this police remand.

The entire case came to light about 10 days ago after Rs 2,000 went missing from the wallet of a minor girl's father and a mobile phone was recovered from her. Since then, the Bijainagar town of Beawar district and nearby areas have seen market shutdowns, rallies and escalated tension between Hindu and Muslim communities.