Crude Bomb Explosion Inside Lucknow's Wazirganj Kachehri, Several Injured, Lawyer Attacked In CJM Court

Several lawyers were injured after an explosion rocked the Lucknow Court in Uttar Pradesh’s capital city on Thursday. The crude bomb explosion sparked furious protests by the lawyers. Three live bombs were seized from the premises of Wazirganj Kachehri. Initial reports suggest that a lawyer was also attacked inside the CJM’s Court on Thursday. Unconfirmed reports also say that attackers also opened fire. News nation has learnt that the attackers targeted a lawyer named Sanjeev Lodhi. Lodhi has alleged that over ‘10,000 young men’ stormed his chamber at around 11:30 am on Thursday morning.

Lodhi also questioned the security arrangements in the court premises. Peeved over the security lapse, the lawyers chanted ‘vakeel ekta, zinadabad’ and demanded the police to take swift action against the accused. Latest reports say that the local police have reached the spot and are probing the incident.

According to news agency ANI, Lodhi has blamed another lawyer for the crude bomb attack. An India Today report said that the explosion was an unfortunate outcome of an ongoing dispute between two groups of lawyers over a complaint. The report said that the crude bomb attack on Thursday morning was allegedly an attempt to attack a lawyer present in the court.

The security of the lawyers inside the court premises has been an important issue in Uttar Pradesh. Lawyers in the state have been demanding the Advocates’ Protection Act. Amid growing pressure from the lawyers, the Yogi Adityanath government had ordered the forming of the Uttar Pradesh Special Security Force (UPSSF). It is said to be a specialised and dedicated security force to ensure security at district courts across the state. However, the Thursday’s crude bomb explosion proves that nothing has been done on ground.

In December last year, attackers had opened fire in a courtroom in Bijnor, killing a murder accused and injuring two policemen, officials said. They had said that another murder accused managed to escape from the spot, taking advantage of the commotion. They said that among the three assailants arrested after the attack in the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court was the son of the man murdered six months back.

Before that, in June last year, Uttar Pradesh Bar Council president Darvesh Singh was allegedly shot dead inside the court premises in Agra by a lawyer who then tried to kill himself, police said. Singh, who was elected to the post two days ago, had come for a visit to the Civil Court when she was attacked.