Lucknow, September 3
Law and order took a severe beating today. Policemen went berserk, opened fire, resorted to indiscriminate tear gas shelling and brutally lathi-charged lawyers of the Lucknow Bench of the High Court, leaving more than 50 lawyers seriously injured and faith in the police completely shattered.
Despite the Chief Minister ordering a judicial inquiry into the incident by a sitting Supreme Court Judge, hundreds of shell shocked lawyers sat huddled inside the High Court premises till late in the day petrified of leaving the court as outside the boundary were men in khaki they could hardly trust.
Senior Judge Vishnu Sahai reportedly spoke to the Chief Secretary to remove the police from around the premises so that the lawyers could leave the court, informed a senior advocate, who was also caught inside. DGP BKB Nair and the Principal Secretary (Home), Mr Anil Kumar, rushed to the courts.
While the DGP could not enter the court premises due to the protesting lawyers, Mr Anil Kumar assured them of safety and removal of the police from the area.
The incident which triggered the barbaric attack on members of the legal community was a brush between an army vehicle and the car of a former President of the Avadh Bar Association, Mr L.P. Mishra, at Parivartan Chowk, in the Hazratganj area, barely a stone’s throw from the High Court building around 10.30 a.m.
The policeman on duty entered into a heated argument with Mr Mishra.
As it was court time many lawyers came to the aid of their senior colleague at which the policeman allegedly pulled out his service revolver.
News of the incident spread like wild fire and lawyers came running to Parivartan Chowk to be charged by lathi-wielding
policemen. Many suffered head injuries and fractures.
Among them was senior lawyer and prominent Congress leader Ashok Nigam, who suffered head injuries and a fractured arm. Baton-wielding policemen chased the men in black robes across the road right up to the court gates.
