Indian gangster Sanjeev Maheshwari Jeeva was shot dead inside a Lucknow court today (07 June), during his hearing for an ongoing criminal case against him, Indian media reported.
A minor girl and a police officer were also said to be injured in the incident after getting caught in the crossfire, the reports said, adding that the shooters, who had fired six rounds of bullets, had been dressed as lawyers, according to eyewitness reports.
Jeeva, a known associate of Indian gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, was accused in the killing of Brahm Dutt Dwivedi, former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister, and a senior leader of the BJP.
Dwivedi was shot dead in Farrukhabad district in February 1997.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Ansari was awarded life sentence in the 32-year-old murder case of Awadesh Narain.
On August 3, 1991, Awadhesh Rai, a Congress leader and the brother of former MLA Ajay Rai, was fatally shot outside Ajay’s residence in Varanasi.
A case was filed against Mukhtar Ansari and several others in relation to this incident.
- With input from agencies
