MARDAN, July 30: Poor security arrangements led to killing of a person by his rival just outside the courtroom of civil judge Mudasir Shah on the premises of district courts, Mardan, here on Tuesday.

According to eyewitnesses and police officials, the accused identified as Amir Hamza took out his pistol and sprayed his rival Rafiullah with bullets, leaving him critically injured outside the civil court. Rafiullah later succumbed to his injuries on way to hospital.

Preliminary investigation by police revealed that sister-in-law of the accused had eloped with Rafiullah some eight months ago and now a case concerning the said dispute was under trial in the court of Mudasir Shah.

On Tuesday, both the parties had come to the civil court to attend hearing in the case.

The police deployed on the premises of district courts, however, arrested the accused when he tried to flee.

Officials of City Police Station have registered FIR on the complaint of Shakirullah, brother of the slain person, against the accused and his accomplices identified as Noor Zaman, Habibullah, Ajmal and Bilal.

Mardan District Bar Association, meanwhile, strongly condemned the killing of a person on the court premises. They wondered how a person with arm entered the court premises when the police had been checking every person at the entrance.

They demanded of the police authorities to take strict disciplinary action against officials found guilty of serious dereliction of duty. They also criticised deployment of the court area police in-charge ASI Nizam Khan inside the courtroom of district and sessions judge, which, they said, led to occurrence of the incident. —Correspondent