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Police officer at the New Delhi court: two attackers were shot dead
Photo: RAJAT GUPTA / EPA
Attackers disguised as lawyers killed a suspected gang leader in a courtroom in India.
The police said that the men were then shot dead by the police.
The defendant was reportedly on trial in New Delhi on Friday when two men wearing black robes suddenly opened fire on him.
The defendant was hit by several bullets.
The police officers who were deployed to protect him reacted quickly and killed the attackers, said New Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana.
It is believed that the perpetrators belonged to a rival gang.
At first it was not clear how the attackers had managed to bring weapons into the room.
Accused are suspected of murder
Before his arrest in March of last year, the defendant was alleged to have been involved in gang wars between rival criminal gangs.
He was accused of murders, robberies and extortion.
Cell phone videos of the incident in the court showed lawyers and plaintiffs seeking cover in the hallway outside the courtroom while gunfire was heard from inside.
Since most of the proceedings because of the corona measures are held virtually, only relatively few people are said to have been in the courtroom at the time of the offense.
ptz / AFP / AP