UP Bar Council Chief Murder: FIR Says Accused’s Wife Had Earlier Threatened Lawyer

Lucknow: The broad daylight murder of the newly elected first woman president of UP BAR Council, Darvesh Singh, took a new turn on Thursday after her nephew Sunny, who lodged an FIR in the case, said the accused Manish Sharma’s wife Vandana had threatened her aunt earlier as well.

The FIR, which named another lawyer Gulecha Vineet, said Vandana had told Singh not to ask Sharma to give back her money and jewellery.

The FIR read, “My aunt Darvesh Singh, who had recently won the UP BAR Council president’s election, was attending a welcome programme by lawyers in Agra. After the event, she was taking rest in lawyer Arvind Mishra’s chamber along with other lawyers and family members. Suddenly, lawyer Manish Sharma came and opened fire on my relative Manoj Kumar and then fired three or four rounds at my aunt and then shot himself too. His wife Vandana Sharma had earlier given life threats to my aunt over phone and had told her not to ask Manish Sharma to give back her money, car and jewellery. Also, Manish had illegally taken over my aunt’s chamber. Ahead of the welcome function, lawyer Vineet Gulecha had bought Manish along so that they could execute their plan to kill my aunt.”

Meanwhile, in protest against the bar council president’s murder, the Awadh Bar Association at the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court decided to cease work on Thursday.

The association has also requested the authorities to provide security to senior members of the bar council.

On Wednesday, Singh was shot dead on the court premises here by a lawyer who then tried to kill himself, police said.

Singh, who was elected as the first woman bar council chief two days ago, had come for a visit to the civil court when she was attacked around 2.30 pm.

Additional Director General of Police Ajay Anand said, “Lawyer Darvesh Singh was shot in the head by her former colleague Manish Sharma. She was rushed to Pushpanjali Hopsital where she was declared brought dead, while Sharma’s condition is very critical.”

Rashtriya Lok Dal spokesperson Anil Dubey said, “Law and order in the state has crippled under the current regime of Yogi Adityanath. There has been an increase in crimes like murder, loot and rape. The murder of the woman bar council chief is certainly a blot on the law and order in the state. While the chief minister is holding meetings with officials over the same, people are being shot dead here.”

Samajwadi Party Chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav also condemned the incident and said, “Rapes, murders and political killings are increasing at an alarming rate. The CM is chairing meetings upon meetings but the law and order is only deteriorating. Now, the first woman head of the bar council of Agra has been shot. Even upholders of the law are not safe,” he wrote on Twitter.