A gunman opened fire at a gangster and two of his aides in a Jharkhand court on Tuesday, killing them and injuring another person.
The unidentified gunman fired at least 30 rounds at Sushil Srivastava and his two aides who were brought to the Hazaribag court for an extortion case.
The incident took place at about 11am on Tuesday when the court premises was crowded.
A police constable fired back at the gunman after being hit in the leg by one of the bullets, but the gunman escaped on a bike, leaving behind his AK-47 at the crime scene.
He was riding pillion with another man, and both are said to be from a rival gang.
"Two men came in carrying an AK-47. They started firing and two persons died on the spot. We are going to demand for security in the court," an eyewitness told news agency ANI.
Srivastava was a contract killer accused of murder and extortion and police suspect the shootout was carried out by a rival gang headed by gangster Kishore Panday.
"The Kishore Panday gang has brought the AK-47 and started firing. We have initiated a search operation," Upendra Singh, Deputy Inspector General of Hazaribagh, told the media, NDTV reported.
Srivastava succumbed to his wounds after sustaining two bullet shots on his chest, one in the stomach and another one in the leg.
