Suspended steno opens fire, panic grips health directorate

LUCKNOW: Panic gripped Health Directorate premises in Kaiserbagh on Tuesday afternoon after a suspended stenographer of the department opened fire on an administrative officer. The employees caught the accused and handed him over to the police, who booked him for attempt to murder.


Police said the accused, Srinivas Srivastava, is a native of

Kushinagar

and worked as a steno at the office of additional director, health and family welfare in Gorakhpur. He was suspended recently on charges of dereliction of duty and had come to Lucknow on Tuesday to meet senior departmental officials to get his suspension revoked.

According to an FIR lodged at Wazirganj police station by the administrative officer of the directorate, Shashank Sharma, it was around 1.30pm when Srivastava stopped him and insisted on hearing his case. However, Sharma told him to go to the director, administration. “At this, Srivastava caught me by collar, took out a pistol and fired at me twice. I ducked in time and was saved,” he said.

Others in the office reacted swiftly and overpowered Srivastava, who continued to threaten Sharma. “We then somehow managed to push him out of the room and locked the door. The guards standing outside caught him and later handed over to the police,” Sharma mentioned in the FIR.

SP (West) Vikas Chandra Tripathi said that a licenced pistol and six bullets of .32 bore were recovered from the accused. “We are investigating the case and scanning CCTV footage and talking to the eye-witnesses about how he managed to take the gun inside. Srivastava has told us that he fired in the air and not at Sharma.”