Are you not worried, we are: Sibal to Shah after Lucknow court shooting

PTI, Jun 8, 2023, 12:16 PM IST

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Thursday took a swipe at Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the killing of people in police custody and asked whether he was worried over such incidents.

Sibal’s dig at Shah came a day after gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s aide Sanjeev Maheshwari Jeeva was shot dead on the premises of a Lucknow court. A policeman and a two-year-old girl were injured in the incident.

In a tweet, Sibal said, ”How and Why: 41 people have been killed in police custody in UP(2017-2022). Recently: Jiva shot dead in Lucknow court in police custody. Atiq and Ashraf shot dead while in police custody. Tullu Tajpuria shot dead in Tihar. Amit ji: Are you not worried? We are!”

In Wednesday’s incident, the alleged assailant, identified as Vijay Yadav (24), was caught on the spot after the shooting took place right outside a courtroom at around 4 pm. Eyewitnesses said the assailant was dressed as a lawyer and fired around six shots.

The assailant opened fire when Jeeva, who was serving life imprisonment in Lucknow jail, was brought to the court for a hearing in a case, police officials said.

The incident comes nearly two months after gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were gunned down by three assailants while being taken in police custody to a hospital for a medical examination in Prayagraj on April 15.

Opposition parties have hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government and the Centre over Wednesday’s incident.

Sibal, who was a Union minister during the UPA 1 and UPA 2 governments, quit the Congress in May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an Independent member with the Samajwadi Party’s support.

He recently floated the non-electoral platform ‘Insaaf’, aimed at fighting injustice.