New Delhi
Two new CCTV videos of the last Saturday’s clash between the police and lawyers at Tis Hazari courts surfaced on social media on Friday, prompting lawyers to accuse the police of deliberately leaking the footage but senior police officials rejected the allegations as baseless.
The first video, which was widely shared on the social media on Friday, shows a senior woman police officer, purportedly DCP Monika Bhardwaj, pleading with an angry crowd of lawyers with folded hands as they charge towards her. The other footage shows a group of police officials, led by DCP Harendra Kumar Singh, being punched and attacked with belts by a mob of lawyers.
At least half a dozen videos clips, CCTV footage as well as mobile videos, have surfaced on social media since the day of the violent clash.
While the special investigation team has seized the CCTV footage and are conducting the probe, members of lawyers associations on Friday said Delhi Police are allegedly “leaking” the footage to project themselves as victims and paint lawyers as criminals. They said it was done by the police with an intent to gain “public sympathy” and “influence” the judicial probe ordered by the Delhi High Court.
Dhir Singh Kasana, secretary of All District Courts Bar Associations, questioned how such footage, which are crucial evidence in the probe, are emerging on social media, even when the digital video recorders (DVRs) of all the CCTV cameras installed in the Tis Hazari court have been preserved by the police for probe.
{{/usCountry}}Dhir Singh Kasana, secretary of All District Courts Bar Associations, questioned how such footage, which are crucial evidence in the probe, are emerging on social media, even when the digital video recorders (DVRs) of all the CCTV cameras installed in the Tis Hazari court have been preserved by the police for probe.
{{/usCountry}}Many lawyers also said that while police are selectively releasing the footage, the lawyers are abstaining from sharing any form of video or messages on social media following a circular issued by a distict judge of the Tis Hazari court.
“Lawyers are reacting strongly to the footage. No videos related to the assault and firing on lawyers by the police are being leaked to social media or shown by the media. We condemn such acts and will take up the issue with the authorities concerned,” said Kasana.
Advocate Rahul Dev Sharma, a member of the coordination committee, said, “Almost all footage leaked so far by the police shows lawyers in bad light. They actually want to gain public sympathy and declare us (lawyers) as criminals. The police is trying to hide their own crimes by putting the onus of the Saturday’s clash on us.”
The Delhi Police on the other hand termed the allegations baseless. “The allegations being made by lawyers are all baseless. The SIT is doing a scientific investigation on merits,” said Delhi Police spokesperson, Anil Mittal.
On Friday, as the CCTV footage was widely circulated across social media, the National Women’s Commission, Delhi Commission for Women and other senior retired IPS officers condemned the incident. DCP Monika Bhardwaj, the woman officer who was allegedly heckled by lawyers at Tis Hazari told reporters, “It (the clash between police and lawyers) was a crowd control situation and I went there as the district DCP. A judicial inquiry has already been ordered and I will give my version during the inquiry.”
DCP Harendra Kumar Singh said a large number of lawyers tried to break the lock-up and thrash the police staff inside the lock-up at the court. “They had belt and sticks in their hands. We had to maintain the law and order in a disciplined manner,” he added.
The members of crime branch SIT probing seven cases related to the violent clash did not offer a comment when asked if they will record the statements of DCP Bhardwaj and additional DCP Singh or registered fresh FIRs in connection with the alleged heckling and assault.