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Hapur Incident: Lawyers burn effigies; strike to continue today
On the second day of the statewide strike, lawyers refrained from work in district courts across the state. Lawyers from the Allahabad high court and its Lucknow bench also participated in the strike.
LUCKNOW Lawyers from the district court burnt effigies of the chief secretary and the DGP at the old high court crossing on Tuesday in protest of the Hapur incident, wherein the police had used canes against lawyers on August 29.
On the second day of the statewide strike, lawyers refrained from work in district courts across the state. Lawyers from the Allahabad high court and its Lucknow bench also participated in the strike.
The strike is set to persist on Wednesday, affecting district courts and the Allahabad high court and its Lucknow bench. Lawyers congregated at the old high court building and ignited effigies of the chief secretary and the state’s DGP, as part of the statewide lawyer’s protest.
Kuldeep Narain Mishra, president of the Lucknow Bar Association at the district court, said, “The strike will continue on Wednesday as well since the state government has not taken action against the police officers responsible for baton-charging lawyers in Hapur.”
On Tuesday, the Oudh Bar Association (OBA) of the Lucknow high court passed a resolution to continue the strike on Wednesday, according to Anand Mani Tripathi, president of the OBA.
Notably, the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh had called for a three-day strike commencing on September 4. They will make decisions regarding the future course of action on Wednesday evening.
Ex-principal judge appointed as member of committee
The state government has appointed Harinath Pandey, the former principal judge of the family court, as a member of the committee investigating the Hapur incident.
The committee, which already comprises three members including the Meerut divisional commissioner, inspector general (IG) of police, and deputy IG of Meerut, now welcomes Pandey as its fourth member. His appointment followed the Allahabad high court’s intervention on September 4 during the hearing of the Hapur incident.
Chief Justice of the Allahabad high court, Pritinker Diwaker, had directed the state government to include Harinath Pandey, the former Principal Judge of the Family Court, as a committee member.
On September 4, the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh called for a three-day statewide strike among lawyers, demanding action against the police officers who baton-charged their colleagues.
The incident in Hapur occurred on August 29 when lawyers were protesting the registration of an FIR against district lawyer Priyanka Tyagi and her father. The case arose from a collision between a motorcycle carrying two policemen and Tyagi’s car. Lawyers were advocating for the FIR to be quashed, but the police responded with baton charges, resulting in injuries to 30 advocates.
Police officials, on the other hand, denied the allegations, asserting that they used mild force when lawyers began assaulting a passerby during the protest. According to Hapur police, at least eight police personnel were also injured during the incident.
