Blast on Lucknow court premises: Police say no one heard explosion, rivalry behind incident; bar association's joint secretary claims he was target

At least three lawyers were injured when a crude bomb exploded outside the chamber of one of them in a Lucknow court compound on Thursday.

The Joint Commissioner of Police, Lucknow, said that prima facie, it appeared to be a matter of rivalry between two parties and that the investigation is on.

1/2 . आज न्यायलय परिसर, लखनऊ में हुई घटना के सम्बन्ध में संयुक्त पुलिस कमिश्नर(कानून-व्यवस्था), लखनऊ ने जानकारी दी कि प्रथम दृष्टया यह दोनों पक्षों के बीच में आपसी रंजिश का मामला प्रतीत हो रहा है. FIR दर्ज कर ली गयी है और गहराई से विवेचना जारी है . @lkopolice pic.twitter.com/YVPLxHt69I

— UP POLICE (@Uppolice) February 13, 2020

Lawyers gather in the Lucknow court premises after the blast. ANI

The commissioner added that people nearby did not hear a blast or bomb exploding and that the plaintiff Sanjiv Kumar Lodhi has not been hurt in any way.

Lodhi, the Lucknow Bar Association joint secretary, claimed he was the target of the attack because he had been complaining about a few judicial officers. He said about 10 people hurled crude bombs outside his chamber in which he and two other lawyers were injured. "One bomb exploded but two still lay unexploded," he said, questioning the security on the premises.

Bomb disposal and dog squads have reached the site of the blast.

Last month, lawyers struck work in protest against the recent attacks on them in the state. The Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh had asked bar associations to abstain from work to put pressure on the government to pass legislation to protect lawyers.

On 7 January, lawyer Shekhar Tripathi (32) was beaten to death with sticks by five men in Lucknow, triggering anger among his colleagues who sat with the body at the district collectorate demanding justice. On 17 December, a man was killed and two policemen injured when unidentified assailants opened fire at Bijnore Chief Judicial Magistrate's court.

With inputs from PTI