Patna, July 8: Three motorcycle-borne men today invaded Chapra civil court premises at north Bihar’s Saran, around 60km from here, shot a constable dead and liberated gangster Ranvijay Singh from judicial custody.

Police sources said the trio on two motorcycles sped into the court premises and asked constable Bahauddin to let Ranvijay go. When Bahauddin, escorting Ranvijay for his regular production in court, refused, the assailants pumped three bullets in Bahauddin’s chest and stomach. Thereafter, they fled with Ranvijay on their motorcycle to escape, leaving a bleeding Bahauddin on the ground.

Police immediately took Baharuddin to the Chapra Sadar hospital, where the doctors declared the constable “brought dead”. The police have lodged FIR with the Chapra town police station.

Ranvijay was escorted to the court from Chapra central jail around 11am. The shootout to free the gangster took place in the busiest hours of the court and created panic among visitors, advocates and judges.

Chapra deputy superintendent of police Mithilesh Kumar said the notorious gangster was involved in several cases of bank robberies, murders and loots.

The police had arrested Ranvijay in 2006 from Muzaffarupur and had lodged him in the Muzaffarpur jail. But the prison administration transferred him to Chapra for trial in the Chapra court.

“We have launched a manhunt,” Kumar said, adding “the law that disallows policemen to carry arms to courts proved fatal for the constable.”

The assailants allegedly left behind one of the motorcycles. “We have seized the vehicle and are trying to trace the owner,” a police officer said.

This is the second instance of escape from judicial custody in the state within a fortnight. Udai Kumar Choudhary, the main accused in the murder IIT alumni Satyendra Dubey, had escaped from Patna civil court premises on June 23.