Close aide of Mukhtar Ansari shot dead outside Lucknow court; Opposition leaders say 'jungle raj' in UP

While Jeeva died on spot, three others also suffered bullet injuries

Barely two months after the sensational on-camera killing of gangster turned politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf by three assailants, who posed as scribes, in front of scores of cops in Prayagraj town, armed assailants, dressed as lawyers allegedly shot dead a close aide of another UP gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari inside court premises in Lucknow on Wednesday.

According to the police sources here, the assailants, who were dressed as lawyers, sprayed Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva, a dreaded criminal, who faced dozens of criminal cases, with bullets while he was being taken to the court for production in a murder case.

While Jeeva died on the spot, three others, including two cops and a child, also suffered bullet injuries and were rushed to the Trauma Centre at the KG Medical University hospital, where the condition of the child was stated to be critical.

Police said that Jeeva, a resident of UP's Muzaffarnagar district, had been arrested in 2006 in connection with the killing of the then BJP legislator Krishnanad Rai and another senior saffron party leader and former UP minister Bramhadutt Dwivedi. Jeeva had been sentenced to life in the Dwivedi murder case.

It was not immediately clear how many attackers were involved in the shooting even as the lawyers managed to nab one attacker and handed him over to the police after thrashing. Some reports said that there was a single attacker.

Incidentally, Mukhtar, who was currently lodged in the Banda district jail, was, barely a few days back, sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the killing of Congress leader Awadhesh Rai in 1991.

Irate lawyers raised slogans against the cops after the incident and also had a scuffle with the police personnel.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said that 'jungle raj'' prevails in the state. ''The incident has happened at a place which is supposed to be under strict security...it shows a total breakdown in the law and order situation in UP,'' Akhilesh said.

UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, however, said that the attackers would be identified and nabbed by the police very soon. ''The state government will make sure that the assailants are punished in accordance with the law,'' he said.