Lawyers block Ferozepur Road

Legal Correspondent

Ludhiana, February 27

The District Bar Association (DBA) today staged a dharna on Ferozepur Road near the DC office to press for their demand for registration of an FIR against STF in-charge Harbans Singh and his dismissal from the service on the accusations of beating a lawyer, Varun Gupta.

Working at courts came to a standstill due to the strike and dharna by the lawyers. The police tried to ensure a smooth flow of traffic to prevent inconvenience to commuters.

The health of Varun Gupta deteriorated during the dharna and he was rushed to the DMCH. After getting treatment, he again reached at the spot.

Meanwhile, DCP Ashwani Kapoor tried to pacify the lawyers. He pleaded them not to stage a dharna as it would cause inconvenience to general public. The DCP told them the incident did not happen in the jurisdiction of Commissionerate of Ludhiana police so they were not in a position to take any action. But the lawyers insisted for action against the STF in-charge.

Vice-president of DBA Rajinder Pal Singh Babbar and Lawyers Brigade chairman Sanjiv Malhotra said a deputation, headed by DBA secretary Sham Ahuja, met the Khanna SSP, who was stated to have marked an enquiry to the Khanna SP. He said suitable action would be taken after the inquiry.

Meanwhile, chairman of Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana Karanjit Singh condemned the incident and demanded action against the police officer. The High Court Bar Association also condemned the incident seeking action.

Advocates’ strike today

The DBA secretary stated that they had requested all bar associations of Punjab to extend their support to the protest. He claimed bar associations of Sangrur, Jallalabad, Samrala, Khanna, Payal and Jagraon subdivisions had also extended their support to their call for strike tomorrow.

Bar Council member Harish Rai Dhanda has written to the Bar Council chairman for taking up the matter with the DGP of Punjab for intervention in the matter. Former DBA presidents Parupkar Singh Ghumman, KR Sikri, Naval Kishore Chhiber and BK Goel have also extended their support to the protest.

Former DBA vice-president Harjot Singh Harikay, Gurkirpal Singh Gill, Ankur Ghai, Gagandeep Singh Saini, Gurmukh Singh, Sukhwinder Bhatia, Rajneesh Mahajan, Karan Verma and a large number of lawyers joined in the dharna.

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