UMERKOTE : A 31-year-old woman allegedly attacked three persons, including a judicial magistrate, with an iron rod on the premises of Jharigaon JMFC Court on Saturday.
The accused, Sanmati Majhi, has been arrested. The injured are Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Smita Lakra (32), senior assistant public prosecutor Pradeep Kumar Pattnaik (60) and court assistant sub-inspector Minaketan Gantayat (59).
Police said that the accused was an informant in an ongoing case. As per the complaint lodged by Pattnaik, who was the first to be attacked, he had just completed examining a witness and stepped into the Bar room while speaking to someone over the phone when Majhi allegedly approached him and struck him on the head with an iron rod.
After the senior prosecutor sustained a severe head injury, Majhi attempted to flee the spot. Hearing the commotion, court staff, witnesses and judicial magistrate Lakra rushed to rescue the bleeding prosecutor. However, on seeing them, the accused allegedly turned her aggression towards the rescuers.
She allegedly struck Lakra with the iron rod, causing swelling on her forehead and a fracture to her middle finger. Subsequently, the accused also attacked Gantayat, who sustained a blunt-force injury to his forehead.
Court staff and security personnel eventually managed to overpower Majhi and seize the iron rod from her. Pattnaik reportedly required multiple stitches for his head injury.
In his complaint, Pattnaik alleged that the woman had come prepared with the intention to kill, disrupt judicial proceedings and launch a premeditated attack on public servants discharging their official duties.
Police sources said Majhi had concealed the iron rod inside a yellow plastic bag before taking it into the court premises.
Nabarangpur SP Kashyap Parth Jagdish said a case was registered based on Pattnaik’s FIR and the accused was arrested. She was remanded to judicial custody after her bail plea was rejected.
“The accused was remanded in judicial custody after her bail plea was rejected. The security at the JMFC Court has been tightened in view of the situation. Further investigation is underway,” the SP said.
The incident has raised serious concerns over the safety and security of judicial officers and members of the legal fraternity within court complexes.