New Delhi/IBNS: A lawyer was shot dead at his office in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad on Wednesday.

The lawyer - Monu Chaudhary - was in his chambers, inside the district court complex, and eating when two men burst in and opened fire on him.

Chaudhary's blood-covered body was found slumped in the chair.

A case was filed with the Sihani Gate Police Station and the investigation is ongoing.

As a part of the probe, a forensic team gathered evidence and the body was sent for post-mortem.

According to preliminary information, Chaudhary was shot dead at 2 p.m. The attackers reportedly arrived on foot and fled the scene after killing the lawyer.

The killing comes as legal practitioners across western UP went on a 24-hour strike on Wednesday to protest the clash between lawyers and police in the state's Hapur region.

In anticipation of further clashes, police had been deployed at all court and tehsil complexes in the state.

However, the fact that armed men broke through this security cordon, murdered Chaudhary and then escaped has led to questions on police.

After news of the gruesome murder, scores of lawyers gathered around the crime scene and soon protests broke out as Mr Chaudhary's colleagues demanded justice. At the time of the attack other lawyers were meeting to chalk out their strategy on the Hapur issue.