Gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s associate Sanjeev Maheshwari, alias Jeeva, was shot dead on the premises of a Lucknow court on Wednesday. The gunfire also resulted in injuries to a police officer and a 18-month-old girl. The child’s condition is critical while the constable is in a stable state, sources said.
The alleged assailant was swiftly apprehended near the crime scene, just outside the courtroom. Eyewitnesses disclosed that the individual was disguised as a lawyer and fired around six shots.
Jeeva (48), serving life imprisonment in Lucknow jail, is an accused in the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai and then State minister Brahm Dutta Dwivedi as well as 22 other cases, including that of fraud and criminal conspiracy.
Taking a serious note of the incident and to find lapses in the security provided to a dreaded criminal inside court premises, the Uttar Pradesh Government formed a three-member Special Investigative Team (SIT). The team will submit its report to the Government within seven days.
The three-member SIT will be headed by ADG (Technical Services) Mohit Agarwal, while the other members include IG (Ayodhya Range) Praveen Kumar and JCP (Crime) Nilabja Chaudhary.
In the firing, 18-month-old girl Laxmi and constable Lal Mohammed sustained injuries.
Senior police officers rushed to the spot and tried to bring the situation under control even as lawyers staged a massive protest, raising slogans, and highlighting laxity inside court premises and lack of safety gadgets. The protest brought the traffic movement between Kaiserbagh bus depot and Swasthya Bhawan crossing to a standstill.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central, Aparna Rajat Kaushik said the history-sheeter, Maheshwari, was shot dead at the door of the ST/SC courtroom (III) while being taken for a hearing.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Nilabja Chaudhary said they were yet to ascertain the sequence of events while the accused was being interrogated.
Jeeva was said to be a dreaded gangster in western Uttar Pradesh, and his name spelled terror among businessmen, company owners, contractors, and even government officials overseeing construction projects.
After Munna Bajrangi’s murder inside Baghpat jail in 2018, Jeeva had claimed a threat to his life. His wife had also claimed a threat to his life recently.
