Firing incident inside courtroom exposes security lapse

The firing inside a courtroom at Karkardooma district courts here today, which led to the death of a police official, has brought to fore holes in security arrangement inside the judicial complex which witnesses a footfall of over 10,000 litigants daily.
The incident has raised question mark on the security arrangements in the judicial complex as to how armed assailants entered the court premises despite the presence of police officials at the entrance.
According to police officials deployed there, six scanners have been installed at the premises but on physical check some of them were not found functional and even there was no proper frisking of litigants, advocates and court staff.

Soon after the incident, the District Judges and other judicial officers held a meeting with senior police officials to discuss on the security arrangement in the premises.
Advocate Mahesh Sharma, President of the Shahdara Bar Association, said there was a "serious lapse" of security and "inadequate" number of policemen have been depolyed in the court premises.
He added that even the police post in court complex was temporary and the plea seeking authorisation for a permanent 'police chowki' in the premises is pending with the Ministry of Home Affairs since 1993.

"The security arrangement in the trial courts should be similar to the Supreme Court and the High Court. The footfall of litigants and advocates in trial court is much more than the superior courts.

Advocate Satya Prakash Gautam, one of the eye witness to the incident, said he was present in the court corridor when the firing started as his case was listed in the courtroom adjacent to Court number 73 where the incident took place.
"I heard gun shots and rushed to court number 73 where I saw the assailants firing and there was so much of smoke inside the room. The assailants who looked to be minors tried to flee but we had caught hold of them and they were beaten badly," he said.