india

Updated: Dec 05, 2018 20:31 IST

A lawyer in the Patna High Court was shot dead near his house by unidentified gunmen on Wednesday morning, triggering protests from the legal fraternity.

Jitendra Kumar was attacked near his rented accommodation residence in Rajvanshinagar. Police officials who rushed to the spot attributed the murder to a property dispute.

“The lawyer was about to leave for the high court when motorcycle-borne assailants shot at him and fled. The deceased lived in a rented accommodation at the Magistrate Colony. We have begun the probe. Prima facie, the murder seems to be fallout of property dispute,” Shastrinagar SHO, Nihal Bhushan told reporters.

The murder, coming soon after the death of a police constable in a shootout with gangsters in the heart of the city on Monday, led to attacks on the Nitish Kumar government from opposition parties as well as an NDA ally over worsening law and order in Bihar. They demanded chief minister Nitish Kumar step down as he has “miserably” failed to give the people a crime-free atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the incident sparked angry protests by high court lawyers, who stopped work in the afternoon and took to the streets to express their concern over the deteriorating law and order. They also sat on a dharna near the Ambedkar square on Bailey Road, partially affecting the smooth flow of traffic for some time.

Earlier, the coordination committee of all three associations of the lawyers met Chief Justice, A P Sahi and conveyed their decision to boycott work in protest against the killing. The chief justice also condemned the murder and assured the bar members that he would seek appropriate action from senior police officials in the case. Work at the court remained stalled for the rest of the day.

Inspector general of police NH Khan said he has constituted a special investigation team of 10 senior police officers led by superintendent of police, city (central) D Amarkesh to crack the murder case. “The deceased’s brother has lodged a case against nine named persons in connection with the murder. We are carrying out raids to nab them,” he said, adding that a land dispute is the cause behind the murder.

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