HC single-member panel to probe lawyer-police clash

Kolkata: Calcutta High Court set up a single-member committee to probe the April 24 incident in which Howrah police resorted to lathi-charge on the Howrah District Court premises.

On Wednesday, the division bench of Justice Biswanath Somadder and Justice Arindam Mukherjee said what the police did on April 24 on the Howrah Court premises was wrong.

Justice Somadder and Justice Mukherjee engaged former Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court Justice (Retd.) Kalyanjyoti Sengupta to conduct a probe and submit a report before the bench within three months.

The two justice bench also ordered seven police officers, including a few IPS officers, not to enter the court premises till the report is submitted. Calcutta High Court instructed the police not to investigate the cases lodged against the lawyers.

On April 24, a major clash took place between the lawyers and staff of Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) over vehicle parking at Howrah Court area. It was alleged that when the HMC staff asked a lawyer not to park his vehicle at the paid parking area, they got into an argument.

The argument heated up when some lawyers and law clerks allegedly arrived there and physically harassed the HMC staff and a security personnel. Within minutes more HMC staff members arrived and there was a clash between them.

It was alleged that both HMC staff and lawyers started hurling bricks at each other.

Later, the Rapid Action Force (RAF) had to be called and the police resorted to lathi-charge. The situation took an ugly turn when the lawyers retaliated and attacked the police personnel.

To disperse the violent mob, the police fired a few tear gas shells on the Howrah Court premises. Commissioner of Police (CP), Howrah, Vishal Garg had visited the spot later.