Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on June 8 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.
Mr. Sibal's dig at Home Minister 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, Mr. 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 p.m. 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.
Mr. 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.
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