More than 800 lawyers from Noida and Greater Noida gathered in the District and Sessions Court in Surajpur on Monday to protest against the assault of an advocate by a police constable.
The protest came a day after a video of advocate Mahendra Singh Yadav being thrashed by a police constable went viral. The cop has been sent to the police lines.
“There are four gates in the court. We locked them all and gathered inside to protest against the grave injustice against one of our colleagues,” said advocate Ranpal Awana, adding that mere suspension of the cop in question is not enough.
“It is not a severe enough punishment. There should be administrative action also. An FIR should be lodged against the cop for assaulting someone without any provocation. There should be a thorough investigation in the matter and we will continue to protest till that happen,” said the advocate.
Mr. Awana said that if swift justice is not provided, the advocates will rope-in lawyers from other States and launch a bigger agitation.
‘A defamation call’
A video was circulated online on Sunday showing Veerendra Kumar, posted at the Ghari Chaukhandi police post, assaulting the lawyer.
The person shooting the video was also asked to leave by a cop in plainclothes. Mr. Kumar was recalled to the police lines on Sunday.
“Our initial investigation reveals that the cops in question were responding to a defamation call. We are still looking into what happened that escalated the mater so much that it ended in an assault,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajeev Kumar Singh.
Mr. Yadav claimed he was trying to warn potential homebuyers from investing in a disputed property.
“We have an ongoing court case regarding a property in Sector 121, which was forcibly taken by the builder for a housing project. We were not given any compensation for the land. I had printed a few pamphlets with this information after which the whole incident unfolded. It was not a defamation effort,” he added.