Lawyer defending 26/11 accused shot dead in Mumbai office

Shahid Azmi, the defence lawyer for 26/11 accused Faheem Ansari, was shot dead by three persons in his office at the Taximen’s Colony in Kurla (West) on Thursday evening. According to the police, Azmi was in his office with a peon when, at around 7.45pm, three persons entered and shot five rounds at him from point-blank range.

Four bullets pierced the 32-year-old criminal lawyer’s chest and he was killed instantly. According to the peon, who was present in the office at the time of the incident, the assailants fled on foot after the shooting. The police said that two imported weapons, a pistol and a revolver were used in the firing, indicating that it was not the handiwork of any local or small-time criminal. Azmi was rushed to the Rajawadi hospital where he was declared dead before admission. The post-mortem report was awaited at the time of going to the press.

Azmi, who rose to fame quickly as a criminal lawyer, had a disturbed past. A victim of the December 1992 communal riots, he was barely 15 years old when he was picked up by the Govandi police for allegedly indulging in violence a few days after the Babri Masjid was demolished on December 6, 1992.

As a teenager he was arrested and convicted under the now-defunct Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act and given a five-year sentence in 1999. But he was acquitted by the Supreme Court later in the year.

After clearing his name of terror-related charges, Azmi did his LL.B from KC College and later completed his LL.M as well. He found it difficult to enroll himself as a lawyer with the Bar Council, but finally got registered after convincing the authorities that his gray past was no reason to deny him the black gown.