Lure of hanging jackfruits inside the campus of a court in Uttar Pradesh's Basti district, about 200 km from here, proved costly for a lawyer, when he was caught plucking them and was arrested.

The lawyer entered the district court compound on Thursday morning and allegedly began to pluck the jackfruits, according to the police.

A guard deployed there to prevent theft of the fruits tried to stop the lawyer but in vain. He allegedly thrashed the guard, instead.

The guard then informed the police, who reached the spot and nabbed the lawyer. The lawyer was later produced in court, which remanded him in judicial custody, sources said.

Police said that seven jackfruits were recovered from the bag of the lawyer. ''We caught him red handed,'' said a police official in Basti.

There are several jackfruit trees inside the district court compound. The court had posted a guard specifically to prevent theft of the fruits. 

There have been instances of people entering the court compound at night and stealing the jackfruits, said an official.