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Lawyers attack collectorate staff in Prayagraj; FIR lodged
Lawyers allegedly attacked chief clerk at district collectorate, staff boycott work demanding arrest. FIR lodged, ultimatum given for action within 24 hours.
A group of lawyers allegedly attacked and injured the peshkar (chief clerk) of chief revenue officer at the district collectorate premises on Tuesday. The collectorate employees boycotted the work following the incident and demanded the arrest of the lawyers involved in the attack.
Later in the evening, Colonelganj police lodged an FIR against the lawyers but the collectorate staff was adamant on the arrest of the accused. The collectorate staff have given an ultimatum of 24 hours to the district administration to arrest the accused or else they will boycott work.
Chief revenue officer Kunwar Pankaj’s peshkar Sushil Bind said that he was coming out of his office with some files when lawyer Manoj Kumr Ojha and four other lawyers intercepted him and demanded to hand over a file to them.
Following an altercation, they attempted to snatch the file and attacked him when he resisted. Sushil received injuries in the assault and ran inside his office to save himself. He informed the police that he knew the other assailants by face.
SHO Colonelganj Pradeep Kumar said an FIR has been registered against the accused for assault, ruckus, breach of peace, issuing threats and obstructing government works.
Meanwhile, the collectorate staff boycotted the work following the incident. President of collectorate employee union Ajay Kumar Srivastava said they will boycott work until the arrest of the accused and assurance of their safety.
The employees demanded the arrest of the accused, security for the staff, installation of CCTV cameras at collectorate premises and cancellation of licenses of the accused lawyers by the Bar Council.
CRO Kunwar Pankaj, ADM revenue and finance Vinay Singh called a meeting of the collectorate employees and condemned the incident while urging them to return to work. However, the employees warned of an indefinite strike until their demands were fulfilled.
