GUJRAT: A murder suspect was shot dead inside a Wazirabad courtroom on Saturday, by a rival disguised as a lawyer.

The suspect, Naseer Paroya, had been arrested only a few days ago. Accused of killing nine people in Wazirabad and Layyah, he had been absconding for over a decade.

The Wazirabad police produced the suspect before the court of special magistrate Mohammad Asif in the Judicial Complex to obtain his custody. During the appearance, one Ghazanfar Farooq, who was already present inside the courtroom, opened fire on Paroya, killing him on the spot.

Security personnel caught the gunman in the courtroom and shifted him to an undisclosed location for investigation. Sadar Wazirabad police later registered a case against him under Sections 6 and 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act, Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the security guard at the judicial complex.

The attacker, who was dressed as a lawyer, managed to enter the Judicial Complex with a weapon as a new law, passed to offer protection to lawyers, stopped the police from searching or frisking lawyers at the entrances of courts.

The bill, already passed by the National Assembly, was approved by the Senate on Thursday.

Around a month ago the Wazirabad DSP had met the district bar association representatives to beef up the security around the Judicial Complex in the wake of rising shooting incidents inside courtrooms across the country.

According to the sources, the bar association had appointed a focal person at the security desk, but he was not present when the attacker entered the building on Saturday.

Wazirabad DPO Ayaz Saleem has appointed Gujranwala SSP Operations Hassan Afzal to conduct the inquiry. Senior police officers from Gujranwala also inspected the crime scene and an investigation has been launched.

On the other hand, the victim’s autopsy at Wazirabad Civil Hospital was delayed due to administrative ambiguity.

According to sources, a medical board needs to be formed to conduct the autopsy of a murder victim.

The doctors were in a quandary as the board could only be constituted at a district headquarters (DHQ) hospital and the Wazirabad hospital has not been declared a DHQ.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2023