Odisha: Lawyers’ strike may end soon

Cuttack: The ongoing agitation by lawyers across Odisha over an alleged assault on a colleague by cops is likely to end soon, a senior lawyer informed today.

A meeting was held in this regard at the IPS Mess near the Police Headquarters here which was attended by State Police DG R P Sharma, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack DCPs and members of the Orissa High Court Bar Association.

The meeting, as per the two parties, was fruitful though no final decision came out today. The police officials and lawyers are quite optimistic about the solution to the months-long agitation.

“Today, we had a very good and satisfactory discussion with senior and respected police officials. I hope and believe that a solution will come out soon. We will inform about our decision tomorrow,” Bar Association President Srikant Nayak told reporters after meeting.

Likewise, State DGP R P Sharma expressed satisfaction after discussing with the lawyers for nearly one hour.

“The meeting was satisfactory and we have requeted the lawyers to call off their stir for the benefit of public. It could be resolved within two days,” the DGP said.

Worth mentioning here there were reports that people from different parts of the State suffered a lot due to the ongoing strike by lawyers when it comes to getting access to justice.

Earlier in the month, the High Court Bar Association had burnt the effigy of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik alleging that the State government had not taken any initiative to resolve the lawyers-police bickering.

Notably, the lawyers are boycotting courts across the state, demanding the arrests of policemen who assaulted a Cuttack city advocate in the middle of a busy road in broad daylight on August 28, following a series of road accidents involving the advocate’s car.