Ludhiana: Cross FIRs registered after advocates, district court complex employees clash

Advocate Narinder Singh claimed the conflict began when his colleague Rohit lost his wallet, and Gurdeep, a court employee, reportedly informed Rohit that he had found it; when Rohit retrieved the wallet, he alleged that ₹8,000 in cash was missing, and upon questioning Gurdeep, an argument ensued, which escalated into a physical altercation

Following the clash between advocates and court employees at the District Court Complex on Monday, the Division Number 5 police have registered cross FIRs against both groups involved late Tuesday night.

(File)

Based on a complaint filed by advocate Narinder Singh, the police have booked court employees Gurdeep, Navdeep, Akash, Maan Singh, Ravi Kumar, Harwinder Singh alias Tinku, along with at least five unidentified individuals. They have been booked under Sections 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), and 299 (deliberate act intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Meanwhile, in a counter complaint, Sukhwinder Singh, an assistant record keeper at the court complex, accused a group of advocates, including Narinder Singh, Rohit Kumar, Rohit Thapar, Amandeep Singh, Harjinder Singh, Mohammad Intzaar, Varun Gupta, Sunny Sharma, Shubham Agarwal, Amit Kumar, and several unidentified accomplices of assault and property damage. They have been booked under Sections 115(2), 126(2), 132 (assault on public servant), 221 (obstructing public functions), 351(2)(3), 324(4) (causing damage exceeding ₹20,000), 191 (rioting) of BNS, and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

Advocate Narinder Singh claimed the conflict began when his colleague Rohit lost his wallet. Gurdeep, a court employee, reportedly informed Rohit that he had found it. When Rohit retrieved the wallet, he alleged that ₹8,000 in cash was missing. Upon questioning Gurdeep, an argument ensued, which escalated into a physical altercation. Narinder further alleged that the court staff, including Gurdeep, confined and assaulted them and even tossed his turban—an act that hurt religious sentiments.

In contrast, Sukhwinder Singh stated that it was the advocates who first abused and attacked Gurdeep. He said that the employees tried to defuse the situation but were assaulted instead. Fearing further violence, they locked themselves in a room, but the advocates allegedly shattered a glass window using a brick and damaged government property. Sukhwinder also emphasised that the incident occurred during working hours, accusing the lawyers of obstructing public servants from performing their duties.

ASI Subhash Chand, who is investigating the case, stated that further investigation is underway to determine the sequence of events and assign accountability.