Bangalore:
It was 1.45 pm in the afternoon - when hundreds of cases were being heard, as usual, at the Karnataka High Court in the heart of Bangalore.
Suddenly, on the first floor, cries of horror rang out. On the ground, a pool of blood grew larger.
A young woman lawyer had been stabbed repeatedly by a male colleague. She died immediately. The man who attacked her, another lawyer, then tried unsuccessfully to kill himself. He has been admitted to a local hospital in Bangalore.
The police believe the victim and her killer were in a relationship.
Subramanya Jois, a senior advocate, talks to us with blood stains on his clothes. He tried to intervene. "In the corridor, these two persons were talking in a low voice. Then I heard the screaming of this girl who said 'ayooh.' She was not able to answer my question, and she fell down. I tried to catch hold of the boy who again stabbed her and when she fell down, he tried to run away. In the process he was trying to stab himself. I tried to catch hold of him and he went inside the bathroom. When he went inside the bathroom I bolted the bathroom and called the police."
Jois pauses to reflect on what he has described, and adds, "It should not have happened at this temple of justice."
The Law Minister, Suresh Kumar, says, "There is enough security at the High Court. "I assure the advocate community, that they need not be worried - we have made necessary arrangements - it is a freak incident... an aberration."