New Delhi: A middle-aged woman was shot multiple times inside the Saket court Friday morning when she was present there for a hearing in a case related to a financial dispute.
The woman, identified as M. Radha, was seen walking with the bullet injuries in a video from the scene of the incident. She was rushed to Max hospital, Saket and her condition is stable, according to the police.
DCP, South, Chandan Choudhary said that the woman was hit by two bullets in her abdomen and one in her hand. According to sources in the police, the suspected motive behind the case is a monetary dispute and the accused was identified as Kameshwar Kumar Singh.
“The accused, a lawyer, has been identified. The lawyer was debarred by the bar council. A total of four-five rounds were fired. The accused escaped through the canteen. Efforts are being made to arrest the accused. Situation is normal inside the court,” the DCP said.
According to an FIR, lodged at the Saket police station in December last year, a copy of which is with ThePrint, Singh accused the woman and a lawyer of defrauding Rs 25 lakh.
The FIR was lodged under Sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
“Rajendra Jha was my old and good friend since 2006. He showed me a good plan of investment of money in which money was paid at a high interest rate of 20-40 per cent per month. He induced me very deliberately to invest my hard earned money. …he was intimately associated with M. Radha as his close associate. She was the person to multiply the money,” the FIR said.
It further stated that when Singh refused to invest, Jha coerced him saying Radha needed money and asked him to give Rs 25 lakh as a friendly loan for which he offered to be the guarantor. Jha promised that he would return the money with 20 per cent interest rate in case the woman fails to do it, the FIR said.
Singh, as per the FIR, paid the money in parts since April last year, some as bank deposits and in cash to Radha and the lawyer. He also accused the duo of defrauding many people on a “large scale”.
The FIR stated that the duo returned only Rs 3 lakh. Radha paid a consultation fee of Rs 85,000 to Singh for his legal assistance in various cases lodged against her, it added.
Meanwhile, Jha told ThePrint that Radha was in the court for a hearing in a cheque bounce case lodged by Singh.
“In an earlier case, a charge sheet was filed, and both Radha and I were on bail. He had assaulted me in the past. In his FIR, he has said Rs 25 lakh, but actually it was some Rs 18 lakh. Most of the amount was returned. He had lodged another cheque bounce case against Radha for which she was there at Saket court for the hearing,” he claimed.
In September 2021, gangster Jitender Gogi was shot dead allegedly by the rival Tillu gang inside the Rohini court complex
“Security lapse in district courts is a great concern for litigants and advocates. The Delhi High Court has also taken note upon the security lapse and issued directions to the Delhi Police, but the security lapses and issues persist. Courts need delegated security units with updated gadgets; then only we can ensure the security at courts in Delhi,” North Delhi Lawyer’s Association general secretary Vineet Jindal said.
“Repeated incidents of firing in courts is scary for the litigants, advocates and even judges. These kinds of incidents also have a negative impact on the judicial system,” he added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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