The Orissa High Court lawyers, who have been agitating for the past 28 days, on Monday decided to up their ante.
“We have decided to stage dharna in front of all State Government offices located in Cuttack for next two days. If our demands are not fulfilled by Wednesday, a delegation of over 1,000 lawyers will go to the Naveen Niwas in Bhubaneswar and submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister on Thursday,” said president of the High Court Bar Association Srikant Naik.
The lawyers are demanding arrest of the policemen who had brutally assaulted an advocate in Cuttack on August 28. The advocate was apparently assaulted by members of the public after the car he was driving was involved in a series of accidents. The Commissionerate police had immediately suspended three policemen for their misconduct. But the lawyers are demanding arrest of the policemen on the charge of an attempt to murder.
Two PILs have been filed in this connection seeking a judicial inquiry into the whole incident.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice KS Jhaveri adjudicating one of these petitions has instructed the State Government to investigate into the incident by a DIG-level officer of the Crime Branch police.