In Priyanka Gandhi’s attack on Yogi govt, bombs hurled in UP court is ammo

The police say the incident is a result of rivalry between two groups of lawyers.

At least three lawyers were injured when a crude bomb exploded in a Lucknow court compound on Thursday.

The chamber of lawyer Sanjiv Kumar Lodhi which was attacked on Thursday.(HT Photo)

Lucknow Bar Association Joint Secretary Sanjiv Kumar Lodhi - among those injured - claimed he was the target of the attack because he had been complaining about a few judicial officers.

He said a group of about 10 people gathered outside his chamber and hurled multiple crude bombs. “One bomb exploded but two still lay unexploded,” he said. Bomb disposal and dog squads have reached the site of the blast.

Congress general secretary Priyaka Gandhi lashed out at the Uttar Pradesh government after the incident, saying UP government lied to the people. “UP government should accept that it lied to the people for three years. Criminals are having a field day in the state. Lawyers are being attacked with bombs in the courts in state capital. From the state capital to outskirts, nobody is safe. What kind of situation is this?” Gandhi, the Congress in-charge for east Uttar Pradesh, said on Twitter in Hindi. 

The police say the incident is a result of rivalry between two groups of lawyers. They have cordoned off the crime scene.

“We recieved an information of explosion in the (court) complex. We are combing the area,” Additional DCP West Lucknow Vikas Chandra Tripathi said. The police have identified one of the attackers as Jeetu Yadav, news agency PTI reported.

An eyewitness said the attackers came from two sides and started throwing bombs at Lodhi’s chamber. “The incident happened at around 11 am. I was standing at the gate of the chamber when 10 men barged in from both the sides of the court and started throwing crude bombs. Mr Lodhi sustained injuries on his head. Four-five people were also carrying pistol. They grabbed me,” said the eyewitness Ashwini, who identified himself as a junior of Lodhi.

Lodhi was taken to Balrampur Hospital for medical examination. He said lax security arrangement at the court led to this incident and demanded that the accused be brought to justice as soon as possible.

Last month, lawyers had gone on strike in protest against the recent attacks on them in the state.

The Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh had asked bar associations to abstain from work to put pressure on the government to pass legislation to protect lawyers.

On January 7, lawyer Shekhar Tripathi (32) was beaten to death with sticks by five men in Lucknow, triggering anger among his colleagues who sat with the body at the district collectorate demanding justice.

On December 17, a man was killed and two policemen injured when unidentified assailants opened fire at Bijnore CJM’s court.

The Allahabad High Court had last year directed the state government to make proper security arrangements for the court and the lawyers.