Advocates protest in Shimla against cop’s misbehaviour
Hundreds of advocates of the Himachal Pradesh High Court today staged a protest outside the Chhota Shimla police station against the alleged misconduct with a fellow lawyer by a police constable and demanded strict disciplinary action against him. Traffic movement on the Chotta Shimla-Sanjauli road was disrupted and commuters faced inconvenience.
Before the protest, the advocates took out a rally from the High Court till the Chotta Shimla police station and raised slogans against the Shimla police. To resolve the matter, SSP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi reached the protest site to address the agitating lawyers. He told them that the police constable in question had been suspended. He also assured the advocates that a departmental inquiry would be conducted against him by an Additional SP-level officer and appropriate action would be taken based on the findings of the investigation.
After receiving the assurance, the advocates ended their protest. The protest was organised over an altercation that occurred between a police constable and an advocate near the Nav Bahar Chowk recently. The situation escalated when the constable allegedly grabbed the advocate by his collar and slapped him. A video of the incident also circulated on social media.
Later, constable Raman Thakur, who was involved in the incident, claimed that while he was on traffic duty on the Jakhu link road, the advocate had overtaken other vehicles inappropriately. When he signalled him to stop, he parked the car in the middle of the road, leading to a traffic jam. Raman alleged that the advocate physically assaulted him due to which two buttons of his uniform were torn.
On the other hand, advocate Pranav Sharma stated that he was travelling from Sanjauli to Chhota Shimla when the constable stopped his car without any reason and misbehaved with him. Both parties later filed formal complaints against each other. The police registered a case against the advocate under Sections 132, 121(1), and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, while the advocate filed a counter-case under Sections 126(2), 115(2), and 352 of the BNS.
