It is said that truth is stranger than fiction.
This was very much evident in the drama that unfolded in the Rohini district courtroom number 207, with the exchange of gunfire between policemen and gangsters in broad daylight leading to the death of four people in the court premises.
The intergang rivalry led to the assassination of the rival by assailants clad in lawyer attire. The gruesome incident resembled a classical Bollywood potboiler.
The gangster who was shot and died in the incident was Jitender Maan alias Gogi, who ran extortion rackets. Gogi and another co-accused from a rival gang Sunil Mann were to be produced in the courtroom before Additional Sessions Judge Gagandeep Singh who had issued production warrants for the two as they were among six accused in an attempt to murder case registered against them at Alipur police station in 2010.
As this was a high-security case, ASJ Gagandeep Singh had decided to hear it later in the day as there were 30 other matters lined up for the day for him to hear. As ASJ entered the courtroom, the lawyers present stood up for the judge except for the two assailants, who were dressed as lawyers but were carrying empty files and had their hands in their pockets.
At 1.15 pm, the counterintelligence team members produced Gogi before ASJ Gagandeep Singh for a hearing on his bail plea. A handful of lawyers were inside the courtroom at the time. All that was required on the part of Gogi was to sign the production warrant, as the next date for the hearing had been scheduled for December. Gogi’s hands were tightly clasped by a security officer to prevent any attempt to flee and he was accompanied by his security detail. At this point, the two assailants opened fire at Gogi, following which there was pandemonium and chaos inside the courtroom. All hell broke loose. There was a lot of firing.
Everybody present in the court panicked upon hearing the sound of bullets being fired. ASJ Gagandeep Singh hurriedly ran towards his chamber. The court staff also ran helter-skelter looking for cover behind almirahs containing case files to duck the bullets being fired indiscriminately by the assailants. Many ran out of the courtroom. There were other litigants present there with their children who too rushed out looking to escape the bullets. Some froze in their place in shock and were completely paralyzed by the suddenness of the unexpected attack. They never expected something like this to happen in a courtroom which is supposed to be where justice is delivered against crime.
The police personnel present there acted swiftly, opened fire in retaliation, and soon shot down the assailants. Only after that, things calmed down, and the daylight nightmare was over. The police firing injured no innocent civilian. The preliminary investigation done by the police recovered a revolver and a pistol from the crime scene. It was ascertained that one of the two accused hails from Baghpat while the other belongs to Delhi.
Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana described the police action as clean and correct and appreciated the prompt police action. He also assured that the issue of security lapse would be investigated.
CJI N V Ramana expressed grave concern over the firing at Rohini court complex. He spoke to Delhi HC CJ, D N Patel, regarding the incident and asked him to hold consultation with Delhi police and advocates association regarding security measures to ensure smooth functioning of courts.
Members of the Rohini District Court Association, along with Rohini Bar Association president Inder Singh Saroha were aghast at the incident and very disappointed at the total security lapse. Later, in the evening, a meeting was convened with DCP (Rohini), DCP (Third Battalion), and both the District Judges.
The security issues were discussed in detail, including the malfunctioning of metal detectors. It was brought to the notice of the police officers that many gang-war-related cases are heard in the Rohini court, which calls for an upgraded security framework in the lines of the security model for Delhi High Court. It was also suggested that there must be a security check of the associates of gangsters who come to court; their vehicles need to be checked inside court premises, and passes for litigants are to be made mandatory. Henceforth, it was suggested that there should be a security check of lawyers too.
It was also demanded that the number of police personnel posted at the court premises be increased. An urgent case was made to ensure that X-Ray machines, CCTV cameras, and metal detectors installed in various district courts are made operational as they are not functioning properly in many cases. The protocol to be followed while producing undertrial prisoners very clearly stresses the need for the physical production of the accused “only when necessary.” If the proceedings can be conducted by exempting the undertrial prisoners, the same be preferred.
This shameful incident inside the court premises reminds us of the need for urgent police reforms so that felonious men like Gogi and his ilk do not kill people, indulge in extortion, and raping of women. Citizens cry out desperately at such incidents but lack the perseverance to take the matter to its logical conclusion. Many incidents in the recent past points towards a collusion between politicians and police officers, the most brazen of them being the Sachin Waze-Param Bir Singh-Anil Deshmukh saga.
Small-time criminals graduate to become feared dons due to political patronage and start their own extortion rackets. For ending this unholy nexus, the SC in 2006 had given a very good judgment in response to a petition filed by Prakash Singh, former DGP of Uttar Pradesh. Still, the recommendations have not been implemented by the state governments taking advantage of some legal technicalities. Politicians and corrupt police officers do not want police reforms and hence scuttle it every time the call arises by taking advantage of the lack of sustained awareness in law enforcement.
Drastic citizen-centric police reforms are the need of the day to enable honest police officers to discharge their duty and maintain public order without fear or favor in the interest of the common citizen. If not pursued with the urgency that it deserves, such gory incidents would become the order of the day.
