Mukhtar Ansari's aide Jeeva shot dead outside court in Lucknow

• Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's associate, Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva, was shot dead outside Lucknow civil court by an attacker disguised as a lawyer
• The shooter was arrested, but angry lawyers pelted stones at the police, causing injuries to some officers
• Jeeva was involved in high-profile murders, including those of BJP leaders Krishnanand Rai and Brahma Dutt Dwivedi. He was brought to court for a case appearance from Lucknow jail

A close aide of Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva was shot dead outside a civil court in Lucknow on Wednesday. The attacker came dressed as lawyers.

The shooter was arrested after the attack. However, the angry lawyers resorted to throwing stones at the policemen. Some police officers sustained injuries,as per reports. "A person opened fire at the UP civil court in Lucknow. The injured have been sent to a trauma centre. We have no details yet," a senior police official told.

According to the report, Sanjeev Jeeva was shot multiple times. Two others, including a child, were injured by a bullet. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said, "I don't have this information, but if anyone is involved in such murders, the police will take strict action against him, he will not be spared.

" Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav said, “Is this democracy? The question is not who is killed, but the question is that they are killed where security is highest."

Who was Jeeva?
Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva was a feared gangster in western Uttar Pradesh. He was associated with the Mukhtar Ansari and Munna Bajrangi gangs. He has been lodged in the Lucknow jail for many days and was brought before the court to appear in the case.

After the murder of Munna Bajrangi in Baghpat Jail in 2018, Jeeva claimed to have threatened her life. His involvement came to light in the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai. Rai, who was MLA from Mohammadabad constituency in Ghazipur, was sprayed with bullets along with six others in Ghazipur in 2005 by a group of assailants armed with AK-47 assault rifles. Mukhtar Ansari and his brother Afzal Ansari were named as conspirators in Ghazipur. FIR.

Jeeva was also involved in the murder of former UP minister Brahma Dutt Dwivedi in 1997. He along with former MLA Vijay Singh were sentenced to life imprisonment by a CBI court in 2003.