UPSSF to take over security of five district courts soon

Uttar Pradesh Special Security Force (UPSSF) will soon take over the security of district and sessions courts in Kanpur, Aligarh, Gorakhpur, Agra and Mathura.

The unit is a specialised dedicated security force constituted for the security of courts in the state in the wake of incidents of shootouts, killings and bomb blasts that took place on court premises. It was formed on the lines of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which guards several key airports and other VVIP installations and refineries.

An order regarding the deployments, dated May 29, 2024, was issued by home secretary Sanjiv Gupta to director general of police Prashant Kumar and other senior police officials. HT has a copy of the order, available on a government website.

A senior UPSSF official said as many as six battalions of the unit had been operational since its formation five years ago. He said the UPSSF, at present, was deployed at the Ayodhya Ram temple, Metro stations in Gautam Buddha Nagar and Ghaziabad, some airports and Lok Bhawan in Lucknow.

“UPSSF will take over the security of five courts initially and gradually courts across the state,” the official emphasised. “More battalions of UPSSF are being formed.”

A senior government official said three sensational killings on court premises were reported in 2019. The first-ever woman president of UP Bar Council, Darvesh Yadav was shot dead inside Agra court two days after her election, on June 12. Earlier that year on February 28, advocate Jag Narayan Yadav, 63, was shot dead in a Basti court. On December 17, three armed assailants shot dead a man accused of killing of property dealer and BSP leader Haji Ehsaan and his nephew Shadab in Najibabad on May 28 of 2019, inside a court room in Bijnor. The incident took place in front of the chief judicial magistrate and a dozen lawyers.

Security arrangements now

A committee headed by chiefs of district police units monitors the security of district courts. An official said the monitoring committee reviewed security at the courts every month. Besides, efforts were made at different levels to develop a system for issuance of identity cards to staff and lawyers for entry into the court premises while passes to visitors, he added.

Despite these measures, dreaded gangster Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva (48) was shot dead inside a courtroom of Lucknow district and sessions court by a hitman on June 7 2023. The latter entered the court in the guise of a lawyer. Days before on June 1, dreaded criminal Chandra Pal Singh was arrested for carrying a firearm to the same court. He was impersonating a railway magistrate when he was caught.

There have been many incidents of firing, shootouts and crude bomb attacks on court premises over the last two decades. A serial bomb blast took place in the district courts of Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi on November 23, 2007.

Major incidents in last decade

June 7, 2023: Gangster Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva (48) was shot dead in a courtroom of Lucknow district and sessions court by a hitman, who was in a lawyer’s guise.

Dec 17, 2019: Three armed assailants shot dead a man accused of killing property dealer and BSP leader Haji Ehsaan and his nephew Shadab in Najibabad on May 28 of 2019, inside a court room in Bijnor. The incident took place in front of the chief judicial magistrate and a dozen lawyers.

June 12, 2019: The first-ever woman president of UP Bar Council, Darvesh Yadav was shot dead inside Agra court two days after her election. Yadav was allegedly shot thrice by lawyer Manish Sharma. Sharma, who also shot himself, was admitted to a hospital in a critical condition.

Feb 28, 2019: Advocate Jag Narain Yadav, 63, was shot dead on a court campus in Basti district. Two assailants opened fire on him when he was working in his chambers.

March 11, 2015: A sub-inspector shot dead a 30-year-old lawyer Nabi Ahmed on the district court campus in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) after an argument.