KUMUD JENAMANI
Jamshedpur, April 12: Over 1,200 lawyers under the banner of the Jamshedpur Bar Association went on strike on Wednesday in protest against the arrest of a fellow lawyer on Monday.
The lawyer in question, Chandan Chowbey was arrested when he had gone to the office of senior SP, Prabhat Kumar for submitting him a memorandum in connection with the arresting made post-Shastrinagar communal violence.
The advocate Chowbey, who is also a VHP leader was taken into custody from the senior SP office premises on Monday morning and was forwarded to the judicial custody in hand-cuff on Tuesday evening.
As the advocate was brought to the Jamshedpur civil court in hand-cuff before being sent to the jail, the matter had come to the notice of fellow lawyers who took strong exception to the police act.
On Wednesday morning, the lawyers assembled at the Bar Association and after an emergent meeting, the members of the Bar Association decided to abstain from the work in protest against the arrest of advocate Chowbey.
“The act of submitting a memorandum to the senior SP is not a criminal act. If the police do not ensure release of the arrested advocate by Wednesday evening, the Jamshedpur Bar Association will be compelled to continue the strike tomorrow, ” declared one of the members of the association.
The agitated lawyers are of the opinion that by putting hand-cuff while arresting advocate Chowbey, the police have violated the apex court’s ruling and termed it to be a criminal act on the part of the police.
The Jamshedpur Bar Association members have demanded that the police officer who put the band-cuff must be taken to task.
