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Gunshots ring out at Saket court in big security breach
Gunshots were fired at south Delhi?s Saket Court complex as a suspended lawyer in uniform opened fire at a woman over a financial dispute. The attacker was identified as Kamleshwar Kumar Singh, who was barred from practising law in 2022. This is the fourth incident of firing in court complexes in Delhi in under two years, highlighting security breaches and gaps in police arrangements. The incident also triggered a political tussle, with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party blaming the lieutenant governor for failing to manage law-and-order in the city.
Gunshots rang out at south Delhi’s Saket Court complex on Friday morning as a suspended lawyer in uniform opened fire at a woman allegedly over a financial dispute, exposing an egregious security breach at one of the city’s busiest courts and multiple gaps in police arrangements despite four similar incidents in the past two years.
The attacker -- 49-year-old Kamleshwar Kumar Singh -- wanted to settle scores with the apparent target of the attack, M Radha, 42, over a financial dispute and confronted the woman and her lawyer on the steps of the court complex around 10am, said police. Singh first started demanding money from her, then slapped her, and finally snatched the revolver of his personal security guard and fired four bullets at the woman, chasing her down the steps of the court.
The gunbattle occurred in full public view and multiple videos of the incident went viral, showing the distraught woman screaming and running with the gunman chasing her and firing at her. In another clip, Radha was seen holding her bleeding abdomen and being escorted out of the complex. Singh’s security guard, identified by the police as Ajay, also suffered bullet wounds.
Deputy commissioner of police (south) Chandan Chowdhary that the authorities received a complaint at 10.26am. “A total of four rounds were fired that grazed through the victim’s left abdomen area and arm. Another bullet hit one person named Ajay,” said a police spokesperson. “The condition of both is stable, and they have been discharged from the hospital,” Chowdhary told reporters.
Singh even managed to escape the court complex despite dozens of policemen present on the premises, and was finally caught by the police around 1.30pm from Faridabad.
The firing marked the fourth such instance in a Delhi court in the past two years, showing that security arrangements promised after every such incident were not foolproof. The incident also triggered a political tussle, with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party blaming the lieutenant governor, who is in charge of law-and-order.
Radha and Ajay were lucky because bullets grazed past their vital organs. Both were discharged from hospital after getting medical attention for a few hours, police said. Singh was barred from practising law in 2022 for two years by the bar council over allegations of financial irregularities.
Police said Singh arrived at the scene to “settle scores” with Radha over a financial dispute in which he accused Radha and another lawyer (identified by the police as Rajender Jha) of cheating him of ₹25 lakh. Two cases of cheating were registered against them in connection with Singh’s complaint last year. Radha and Jha were also arrested in the case last year, and were later granted bail by the Delhi high court, said police officers and two lawyers representing her in the cases.
Chowdhary said Radha -- who has several other cases of fraud against her -- took money from Singh with the promise of doubling it. “The man was an advocate here [at Saket court] for a long time, and was wearing his uniform at the time of the incident,” she added.
Advocate Harbans Singh, who is representing Radha in a cheque bounce case, said that she met him and another lawyer at around 10am on the ground floor of the lawyers block building at the complex. They were confronted by the shooter as they were walking towards the concerned court, he said.
“As we were heading down the steps, Kameshwar Kumar Singh blocked our way and started confronting Radha and slapped her. He was demanding money from her. As I objected, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at me, telling me not to intervene. He then fired the first bullet, which missed me. Radha tried to fight him off and run away, but he chased her and fired at her three times,” said a second lawyer, who did not wish to be identified.
The scuffle and firing happened in full public view and in the presence of other lawyers and litigants during a busy morning at the court complex. Several passersby managed to capture the incident on their cellphones, clips of which soon emerged on social media.
According to Harbans, after firing at Radha, the shooter ran inside the canteen of the lawyers block even as people chased him. “He was surrounded by people in the canteen and panicked and fired at them to scare them... In the confusion, he fled using the rear door of the kitchen,” he said, adding both the victims were rushed to Max Hospital, Saket.
Singh was later arrested from Faridabad by a crime branch team of the Delhi Police, said officers aware of the developments.
“We arrested the suspect from Faridabad and brought him back to Delhi. He is being interrogated in connection with the crime and its motive, to recover the firearm he used, and ascertain the source through which he procured it,” said special commissioner of police (crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav.
“He has told us he snatched the gun from his own private security detail, but we are yet to ascertain the facts about his statement,” crime branch officers said.
The shooting drew criticism from lawyers at Saket court as they termed it a “serious security breach” and blamed the poor security arrangements at the complex.
“A person dressed as a lawyer entered the complex with a gun, opened indiscriminate fire in full public view, and then escaped without getting caught. This is a matter of great concern... Frisking and searching of visitors is done at Gate 3, which is used by visitors and lawyers without vehicles. But no such checking is done on the gates meant for judges and lawyers coming in vehicles. The security guards just see the bar association’s stickers and allow them inside,” said Atul Anand, a lawyer at Saket court.
Police officials, however, denied any lapse in security.
This is the fourth incident of firing in court complexes in Delhi in under two years.
In early July 2021, a 45-year-old man was shot dead inside an advocate’s chamber in Dwarka court complex. On September 24, 2021, two men dressed as lawyers opened fire inside a courtroom in Rohini Court Complex and killed Delhi’s notorious gangster, Jitender Maan alias Gogi, before being gunned down by police personnel. On April 22, 2022, another firing happened at Rohini court as a police constable tried to intervene in a scuffle between two lawyers and a civilian.
Within an hour of the incident, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal criticised lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena over the city’s law-and-order situation. “The law-and-order situation in Delhi has completely broken down. Instead of obstructing the work of others and doing dirty politics on everything, everyone should focus on their own work. And if he does not manage, then he should resign so that someone else can do it,” Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi. Tagging a video of the firing, Kejriwal said in another tweet, “LG sahab, what is happening in our Delhi?”
There was no official response from the LG’s office when contacted
