THREE gangsters were on Friday (24) killed in a shootout inside a courtroom in Delhi, India, that has left several injured and put a serious question mark over the security in a heavily guarded zone in the national capital.
In videos of the incident that went viral, gunshots were heard inside the court and police officers and lawyers were seen scrambling in the building located at Rohini in northern Delhi.
The gunmen entered while the court hearing was on as lawyers and shot gangster Jitender Gogi three times. The special force personnel who were in charge of Gogi retaliated, killing both the attackers.
Gogi was known to be a notorious gangster who was involved in several criminal cases and was in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since last year. A rival gang had planned to kill him when he was brought to the court on Friday, Indian news channel NDTV reported citing the police. The two gangs have reportedly been at war for years now and many have been killed in their clashes.
“Two from a rival gang opened fire at Jitender Gogi inside the court. That is when the police retaliated and killed those two assailants,” Delhi Police commissioner Rakesh Asthana told the channel.
“The police acted swiftly and killed both the assailants. Total three dead, including Gogi,” he said.
Those who witnessed the entire episode were seriously worried over the security. Lalit Kumar, a lawyer, told NDTV, “The judge was in court, lawyers were present and Jitender Gogi was there. These two lawyers (who turned out to be shooters dressed as lawyers) walked in and started shooting. An inter was also shot.” Questions were also being asked over the effectiveness of metal detectors at the court since the armed men could barge into the court room without any resistance.
“The question on whether the metal detectors were not working in the court premises is a matter of investigation and I cannot comment on that at the moment. We are already investigating the case and we shall not spare anyone who is involved in this shootout,” Asthana said.
Gogi, who was born as Jitender Mann, was arrested in March 2020 and the Delhi Police considered his arrest to be a big break.
FILE PHOTO: Floral tributes are laid following a vigil for the victims of the knife attack in Southport, Britain July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja
