Bhubaneswar: Odisha DGP Sunil Kumar Bansal and Northern Range IGP Deepak Kumar appeared before the Supreme Court via video conferencing in connection with the lawyers’ agitation over the demand for a permanent bench of the Orissa High Court at Sambalpur.
The Supreme Court had on Monday ordered the Odisha government and the State Police to take stringent action against the protesting lawyers. The apex court had also directed both DGP and IGP to appear via video conference on Wednesday to explain what steps have been taken by them against the lawyers.
The Supreme Court passed the orders after watching videos from the protest site wherein it was shown to the court that the entire court premises in the district were damaged by the protesting lawyers. The striking lawyers ransacked the court premises damaging computers, VC facilities, etc.
Following the court order, the Odisha Police arrested 16 lawyers of Sambalpur district Bar Association and clamped section 144 CrPc near the court. Sambalpur SP Battula Gangadhar said further arrests will be made based on CCTV footage. The Bar Council of India (BCI) also suspended the license of 29 advocates for 18 months.
