A 35-year-old lawyer, Tuntun Akela, was shot dead by unidentified motorcycle-borne gunmen near Dahibhatta village in Gopalganj district of Bihar, around 9.30am on Friday. This led to protests by his colleagues on the premises of district civil court.
The local police said the incident took place when the victim was on his way to the civil court along with his assistant, Ranjeet Kumar Ram, from his native village Bargachhia on his motorbike.
The assailants shot at him from behind causing severe injuries.
As the news of the murder reached the court, the lawyers started shouting slogans against the police and boycotted work resulting in disruption of court proceedings. The protesting lawyers demanded immediate arrest of the criminals involved in the case.
Later, a group of lawyers blocked the road near Manika Chowk and disrupted vehicular traffic for three hours. Gopalganj SP Manoj Kumar Tiwari rushed to spot and heard the protesters’ grievances. The roadblock was lifted after the SP’s assurance.
“The SP has given an assurance that the culprits will be brought to book at the earliest. We have agreed not to launch any agitation on the SP’s assurance,” President of District Advocates’ Association, Prem Nath Mishra, said.
The police have detained two suspects, including a criminal who was released from jail on January 20, for interrogation. Early investigations reveal that land dispute was the reason behind the murderous attack on the lawyer.