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Two police teams have been constituted to investigate the murder of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari's aide Sanjeev Maheshwari Jeeva in Lucknow, while steps have been taken to tighten security at court premises in the wake of the incident, a senior police officer said on Friday.
Jeeva (48) was shot dead on the premises of a Lucknow court on Wednesday, police said. A policeman and a two-year-old girl were injured in the incident.
"Two teams with four policemen each have been formed for prompt and successful disposal of the investigation of the case registered at the Wazirganj police station in Lucknow," joint commissioner of police (law and order) Upendra Aggarwal told reporters.
Wazirganj police station in-charge Manoj Kumar Mishra will head the investigation, he said.
"The second team constituted for technical assistance includes Rajdev Prajapati, in-charge of the surveillance cell, western zone with three others," Aggarwal said.
Apart from this, Inspector Ramphal Prajapati has been assigned the task of making adequate security arrangements at the old premises of district court and high court Lucknow Bench, the officer said.
He said an application will be moved in court on Saturday over the police custody of the accused.
The senior police officer said a meeting was also held with lawyer organisations on Friday and a consensus was reached on several points regarding security on court premises. There will be separate entry gates for officers and advocates besides other elaborate security arrangements, he said.
"Steps are being taken to ensure security in court. We also held a meeting with the Central Bar Association and the members have assured their cooperation in this process," he said.
Meanwhile, the police have increased the number of police personnel deployed in the district and sessions courts, and installed metal detectors at every gate.
Lawyers coming to court now have to show their identity cards and are frisked by police officers.
The alleged assailant, identified as Vijay Yadav (24), a resident of Jaunpur district, was caught on the spot after the shooting took place right outside a courtroom, the police said.
Eyewitnesses said the assailant was dressed as a lawyer and fired around six shots.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the formation of a three-member Special Investigation Team to probe the incident.
The assailant opened fire when Jeeva, who was serving a life term in a Lucknow jail, was brought to the court for hearing in a case, police officials said.
A resident of Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh, Jeeva is an accused in the murder cases of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Krishnanand Rai and former state minister Brahm Dutta Dwivedi as well as in 22 other cases, including those of fraud and criminal conspiracy.
Meanwhile, chief medical superintendent of King George's Medical University Trauma Centre said the girl, who was shot in the incident, has been successfully operated and the bullet has been removed.