LAHORE Lawyers went on strike, shortly after unidentified gunmen sneaked into the courtroom of the Additional District and Session judge on early Saturday and fled away after killing two under trial accused, creating worst panic in the otherwise highly-guarded area during rush hours. Eyewitness said that the judge and lawyers ran towards safe places to save their lives as the gunmen ambushed two brothers over old enmity when they appeared before the Additional Sessions Judge Ahmed Ali in connection with a murder case. Killings of opponents over animosity in the court premises are not rare here in the Punjab province, where the influential heirs or companions of the dead prefer to close the chapter of their rivals by themselves rather than pursuing court proceedings. It also underlines the complications in our judicial system, a legal expert said, requesting his name not to be mentioned. Several people are killed by their opponents in the court premises every year across Punjab. Police sources said that both the brothers, identified as Zeshan alias Shani, 30, and Ali Imran alias Mani, 28, sustained multiple bullet wounds and died on the spot while the killers fled away from the crime scene without facing any resistance though a number of policemen were on-guard at that time. Father of three, Shani Butt, was considered an influential figure in the showbiz circles of the town, police said, adding, he had developed old enmity with different underworld gangs. He was residing in the Peoples Colony in Gujranwala district along with his brother Mani Butt after he was released from the jail a few years ago. Police investigators said that the deceased were nominated accused in the murder case of one Malik Nadeem, who was killed in Shadbagh police area on May 8. Rukhsana Nadeem, the complainant in that FIR (No 418/2011) alleged that their rivals Zeshan and his brother Ali Imran alias Mani killed her husband as they belonged to Mubeen Butt group. Police sources said that the deceased were on pre-arrest bail. As they (accused) appeared before the judge in connection with the murder charges, unidentified men who were already present in the courtroom, took out guns and opened straight fire on them, police investigators quoted eyewitnesses as having said. Later, Capital City Police Officer Lahore Ahmed Raza Tahir along with heavy contingents of the police reached the spot and ordered arrest of the on-guard policemen on the charges of negligence and security failure. The police also removed the bodies to the morgue for autopsy. The Islampura police have registered the case against wives of the deceased Malik Nadeem, his brother in-law and two other people with no arrest made so far. The police have recovered a pistol from the courtroom, sources said, adding, one of the three killers threw his pistol near the chair of the judge and fled away from the retiring room of the judge. Police investigators said that the deceased belonged to Mubeen Butt group and they had murdered their rival Malik Nadeem. Mubeen Butt was among the notorious gangsters in the town and he was killed in fake police encounter several months ago. At least seven people of Mubeen Butt and Malik Nadeem group have been killed over old enmity during the last couple of years. A good number of close relatives of the deceased and armed men of Mubeen Butt group reached the spot soon after the incident but the killer had fled away from the crime scene. They also staged a strong protest demonstration against the police and chanted slogans against the government for not providing proper security to the courts. Meanwhile, the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) strongly condemned the killings and announced strike for an indefinite period. In a joint statement President Shahzad Hassan Sheikh and other office-bearers said it was quite shocking that despite deployment of police in and around the Sessions courts, how armed criminals dared enter courtroom and sprayed a volley of bullets on the under-trial accused. Shahzad Hassan Shaikh said that strike would continue for an indefinite period unless and until proper security measures were not adopted by the government and police to save the lives of not only judicial officers and lawyers but also their clients. After the incident, the lawyers in lower courts in Cantonment, Model Town and City Courts boycotted the proceedings at district courts as a token of protest. However, after the incident, the District and Sessions Judge Lahore, all Additional Districts Judges, Senior Civil Judge and other Civil Judges confined themselves to waiting rooms till court timings.