In a daylight shootout, two undertrials were shot dead by armed assailants while coming out of the CJM court in Mahamaya Nagar district on Saturday noon. The policemen escorting the accused were swift to retaliate, gunning down three of the fleeing assailants, who are yet to

be identified.

The undertrials — Kamlesh Kumar and Satyavir Singh — were lodged in the district jail since they were arrested in a case of abduction, loot and the murder on January 11 this year.

The Superintendent of Police (SP) Mahamaya Nagar, Jitendra Pratap Singh, said the motive behind the attack on the undertrials was not yet established.

“The undertrials were walking out of the court after a hearing in their case when three youths suddenly appeared carrying firearms around 12.15 pm. Before the escorting policemen and the accused could react to the situation, the assailants opened fire with country-made pistols,” said Singh.

“Kamlesh and Satyavir sustained bullet injuries on their heads and died on the spot. A sub-inspector, TA Rizvi, and two constables, Mahavir Singh and Banwarilal Sharma, and some lawyers gave the assailants a chase,” he added.

The assailants continued firing as they fled, Singh said, forcing the policemen to retaliate. The return fire from the police team left one of them dead and the other two critically injured.

The injured were rushed to the hospital, but died on way. The police recovered three .315 bore country-made pistols from the spot.

The SP said Kamlesh and Satyavir had abducted a truck driver and had taken the vehicle laden with goods to Farrukhabad in August 2008. They had killed the driver and had sold off the looted goods.

A case of abduction, robbery and murder was registered against them and they were arrested in January this year, he said.