Police lathi charge lawyers in Ghaziabad court

Lucknow: Several lawyers were injured as police made a lathi charge in the district court premises in Ghaziabad on Tuesday following an altercation between a group of lawyers and a judge over hearing of a bail application.

According to the police sources, enraged over the lathi charge, lawyers struck work and torched a police outpost near the district court in Raj Nagar area in the town.

Sources said that the trouble began after a group of lawyers led by Nahar Singh Yadav asked district judge Anil Kumar to either hear an anticipatory bail application on priority or transfer it to some other judge.

The judge refused to hear the bail application and told the lawyers that he would hear the same in accordance with the listed cases which led to heated arguments between him and the lawyers. The judge allegedly called the police.

Soon a contingent of police and PAC personnel reached the court premises and tried to disperse the lawyers resulting in a clash between them. The lawyers alleged that they were beaten by the cops after closing the doors of the courtroom.

Videos of the incident, which went viral on social media, purportedly showed the cops baton charging the cops. One police constable was purportedly seen picking up a chair and appeared to throw at the slogan shouting lawyers.

The lawyers' association of western UP condemned the lathi charge and demanded action against the cops. They also threatened to launch an agitation if their demand was not met. The lawyers said that they would ‘boycott’ the district judge.

Security personnel in strength had been deployed in and around the court premises, sources said.