A police Gypsy was set on fire by lawyers, who also damaged eight buses and a UP police prison van during Satu... Read More

By: Sakshi Chand and Somreet Bhattacharya

NEW DELHI: An altercation over parking at Tis Hazari court flared into a battle between lawyers and policemen on Saturday afternoon, with cops reportedly shooting and injuring two lawyers, and lawyers going on the rampage on the court premises and setting a police Gypsy on fire and damaging at least eight parked prison vans.

Lawyers even attacked journalists, including TOI photographer Rajesh Mehta, covering the incident. Later, police lathicharged the lawyers and reportedly damaged their cars and chambers on the court premises. Police claimed 20 police officers and 12 lawyers were injured in the clash .

The drama went on till late evening with the lawyers demanding the arrest of the policemen who shot at the lawyers and the dismissal of the area DCP.

Lawyers in all six district courts in Delhi would go on a strike on Monday in protest, according to the Bar Council of Delhi.

It all began around 3 pm when a policeman from the Third Battalion of the Delhi Police got into an altercation with a lawyer over parking his car outside the jail lockup, a space reserved for jail vans. The argument turned violent when a group of lawyers who were campaigning for the bar council elections scheduled for November 5 got into a heated exchange with the police. Cops allegedly dragged a few of them and took them to the lockup. While this was happening, some lawyers reportedly set a few bikes parked outside the lockup on fire.

Additional DCP (north) Harender Singh and a team of cops reached the spot and tried to disperse the lawyers, but they got into a scuffle. Cops allege that a group of about 150-200 lawyers tried to break down the gates of the lockup, at which point a cop fired at Vijay Verma, one of the protesting lawyers. The bullet hit him on his right chest and he collapsed on the spot. Another lawyer identified as Ravi also sustained bullet injuries on his right hand.

As news of the firing spread through the court, all hell broke loose. Lawyers who were inside the court went on the rampage, damaging police vehicles and attacking the cops.

Lawyers ‘trapped’ policemen in court lockup with undertrials

The additional DCP and some cops tried to enter the lockup and secure it from inside, but the lawyers allegedly locked the gate from outside, trapping them with the undertrials. The windshields of jail vans parked near the lockup were broken. A total of eight buses and a UP police prison van were smashed.

By this time, the cops from the nearby police station along with a large police force led by DCP (north) Monika Bhardwaj reached the court and tried again to disperse the lawyers, leading to a fresh clash between the cops and the police.

“The police seemed to have gone berserk after this. They attacked everyone with canes. They also smashed glass panes of the chambers. Several lawyers were seriously injured. A few parked cars were also damaged,” said N K Saraswat, one of Verma’s colleagues.

A few cops, including the additional DCP and SHO Kotwali, too, were injured during the clash. The SHO had to be admitted to a hospital where his condition is said to be serious.

According to the lawyers, around a dozen lawyers suffered fractures on their arms.

“We are examining the CCTV footages from the agitation and would register FIRs on the basis of that. We have also received a complaint from the lawyers regarding the firing and police action which is also being probed. Strict legal action will be taken against anyone found guilty,” said Alok Kumar, joint Commissioner of Police (eastern range).

The crime branch has been tasked to probe the violence, while a special investigation team led by a Special Commissioner of Police will investigate the police firing on lawyers.

The cop who shot at Vijay Verma, one of the injured lawyers, was from the 3rd Battalion, police said later in the evening.



In Video: Clash breaks out between lawyers and cops at Delhi's Tis Hazari court