Court work hit as bar members protest ‘misbehaviour’ by cop

Ranchi: Court work was disrupted on Friday as members of the Ranchi District Bar Association (RDBA) abstained from judicial duties to protest against the alleged misbehaviour of the officer-in-charge (OC) of the Scheduled Caste (SC)–Scheduled Tribe (ST) police station, Mahesh Munda, with women advocates.

Sources said court proceedings, including witness depositions and case hearings, were affected due to the protest.RDBA members staged a march from the association’s building to the police station, raising slogans against the officer. Woman advocate Sabina Kujur lodged a complaint with RDBA secretary Sanjay Kumar Vidrohi, alleging that she and her colleague, Soni Lakra, had visited the police station on Thursday to register a case.

When the officer on duty allegedly refused to lodge the FIR, they approached the OC.According to the complaint, the OC allegedly shouted at them, used abusive language and asked them to leave the police station. Kujur further alleged that the OC caught her hand and forcibly pushed her out of the office, with the help of two women cleaners and a man. RDBA secretary Sanjay Kumar Vidrohi said the association submitted memorandums to the offices of the governor, the CM and the Ranchi SSP, demanding an independent inquiry into the incident, suspension of the OC as a prima facie accused, departmental and criminal proceedings against the erring personnel, and directions to ensure the safety and dignity of advocates.

Denying the allegations, OC Mahesh Munda said the FIR was not registered as the complainant had lodged false complaints. “The advocate tried to put pressure on me to register the FIR. I asked a woman police personnel to escort her out and later spoke to her client. The CCTV footage outside my office can be examined,” he said.