Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday attacked the Yogi Adityanath government over a lawyer being shot dead allegedly by another on the Shahjahanpur district court premises and said the incident was another chilling reminder that no one is safe in today's Uttar Pradesh.
The lawyer was shot dead on Monday afternoon over an old rivalry, following which four police personnel were suspended for negligence, police said.
The victim, Bhupendra Singh (58), had filed two dozen cases against Suresh Gupta.
Upset over this, Gupta allegedly killed him, they said.
"The legal and judicial fraternity is an integral pillar of our democracy. The brutal murder of an advocate in broad daylight in court premises in Shahjahanpur is another chilling reminder that no one is safe in today's Uttar Pradesh - not women, not farmers and now not advocates," Priyanka Gandhi tweeted.
In a Facebook post in Hindi, she attacked Adityanath, saying the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh used to claim that goons and miscreants have fled the state and here, they are entering a court and killing a lawyer.
"The Shahjahanpur incident once again established that no common man is safe under the BJP rule and the government is busy propagating lies instead of improving law and order," the Congress general secretary said.
Advocate Singh of Jalalabad tehsil had gone to the third-floor office of ACJM-I of the district court in the afternoon to meet a clerk in connection with some case when a gunshot was heard and he was found dead.
Quoting the clerk Singh had gone to meet, Superintendent of Police (SP) S Anand had earlier said that an illegal 315 bore pistol was found near the body.
A case of murder was registered against advocate Suresh Kumar Gupta and his two sons Gaurav Gupta and Ankit Gupta.
The accused advocate has been arrested, the police said.
Advocates in the district had launched an indefinite strike, demanding the killer's immediate arrest.