26/11 Lawyer Sahid Azmi shot dead

Lawyer Sahid Azmi who was defending one of the key accused of 21/11 terror attack of Mumbai was shot dead late Thursday evening in his Kurla, Mumbai office, Police reported.

Some unidentified gunmen barged into Azmi's office at 9PM on Thursday and opened fired at him. Azmi sustained 4 bullet injuries and was brought dead to the hospital.

Azmi, 34, represented Fahim Ansari, one of the key accused in the ongoing 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks trial.

Among other things, Azmi's client Fahim - a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) activist - is charged with preparing the groundwork to help the perpetrators of the terror attacks.

At the tender age of 15, Azmi was arrested for violence during the communal riots that rocked Mumbai between December 1992-January 1993.

In 1992, Azmi was accused of plotting to kill Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray.

Charged under the now-defunct Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA), Azmi was awarded a five-year sentence in 1999, but was acquitted the same year by the Supreme Court.

When he was in jail between 1992-1999, he studied for a post-graduate course and after acquittal by the apex court, he studied for a law degree before entering legal practice.