Row erupts as disabled ex-Army man held from lawyer’s chamber

A disabled ex-Army man was arrested from inside the chamber of a Gurdaspur-based lawyer, a development that not only put the police on the back foot but also invited the wrath of lawyers.

The incensed lawyers have complained to District and Sessions Judge Dilbagh Singh Johal against Dinanagar SHO Amritpal Singh and other members of the police team that accompanied him during the incident on Friday.

They claimed that the SHO and half a dozen policemen entered the chamber of lawyer Dilbagh Singh Saini in plain clothes carrying weapons and manhandled Pawan Kumar, a retired Army soldier.

They alleged that the cops also threatened the lawyers saying, “An FIR should be lodged against you advocates as you are sheltering the accused.”

Pawan, an accused in an assault case, said, “In 2007, I was sent to a mountainous area near Srinagar when my leg got injured. Despite the fact that the police knew I was disabled, they dragged me from inside the chamber before pushing me in a police vehicle,” he said.

The CCTV footage clearly showed the cops pushing Pawan Kumar out of the chamber. Sessions Judge Dilbagh Singh Johal has also written to the Gurdaspur SSP, seeking “necessary action.” The lawyers also claimed that the police manhandled some women clients.

SHO Amritpal Singh said Pawan Kumar was on the wanted list of the police. “An FIR has been registered against him. We have done nothing wrong by arresting him,” he said. He was on our wanted list,” he said.

The court of Judicial Magistrate Jaginder Singh granted bail to Pawan Kumar. The police had asked for three-day remand. However, the court declined the police application.