Strike affects judicial activities in Cuttack
The Odisha lawyers’ Association here on Wednesday said they are not satisfied with the investigations by the Commissionerate Police and demanded a probe by an independent agency into the alleged police attack on Bhubaneswar Bar Association member Nihar Ranjan Sethi.
“The inquiry of the Commissionerate Police against its personnel will not be impartial. So, we demand an impartial inquiry by a third party into the attack of our member by the police,” said association secretary Jnyanaranjan Mohanty at a Press conference.
The association demanded an impartial probe to be conducted by a sitting judge of the Odisha High Court or a High Court-monitored CBI probe or a probe by Human Rights Commission into the issue.
Mohanty also questioned that while the Commissioner of Police had promised an inquiry within 48 hours, why the police held a hurriedly-called Press conference and produced selective video footage without holding discussions with the lawyers.
Only an impartial investigation by an independent agency can unravel what happened between 11.35 pm when lawyer Sethi left the hotel for his home and 3.38 am when he was admitted to the Capital Hospital by the police, he said.
The lawyers’ body also demanded Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the victim and the State Government to bear the treatment cost of the victim and provide security to him.
Sethi was allegedly beaten up by policemen on July16 night while he was on his way home near Ravi Talkies Square. Sethi had complained of serious injuries inflicted by the police in his private parts and other parts of the body.
However, the Commissionerate Police on Tuesday evening released CCTV footage showing the lawyer taking alcoholic drinks in a city bar and moving freely in the Capital Hospital without assistance, thereby countering the lawyer’s allegations.
Meanwhile, judicial activities in Cuttack, including that of the Odisha High Court, were affected on Wednesday when lawyers abstained from courts showing solidarity with their Bhubaneswar counterparts, who are agitating for about a week demanding action against the policemen who allegedly assaulted one of their colleagues.
Responding to a call by the High Court Bar Association, members of other bars of Cuttack also stayed away from their courts paralysing judicial activities for the entire day.
According to information, the Cuttack lawyers are likely to join in their courts from Thursday as the High Court lawyers have already decided to resume duties from that day.
When asked, High Court Bar Association secretary Bidyadhar Pradhan disclosed that the association has received a CD from the Twin City Commissioner of Police in which it has been claimed that the Bhubaneswar lawyer was not assaulted by the police, and the injuries in his body were due to an accident he met while driving in a drunken state.
“We have reasons to disbelieve the police claim as the footages in the video are disjointed and incoherent,” Pradhan said.