Police jeep set ablaze during lawyers’ agitation in Odisha capital

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, July 21:

An unidentified mob this afternoon set ablaze a police jeep at the busy Kalpana Square in Odisha’s capital city while the city lawyers were on an agitation against the alleged brutal attack on an advocate of the Bhubaneswar Bar by policemen on Wednesday night, reports said.

Traffic on both sides of Kalpana Square remained paralysed as old tyres were set on fire on the road.

Police Commissioner Dr RP Sharma and DCP Nitinjit Singh reached the spot following the incident and held discussions with the agitating lawyers.

The lawyers who had launched an agitation since Friday to protest the attack on advocate Nihar Ranjan Sethi, were reportedly assured by thw DCP Nitinjit Singh that action will be taken against the accused policemen and the injured advocate would be compensated by Saturday.

However, members of Bhubaneswar Bar Association at the agitation site alleged that the accused cops were not taken to task and the victim was also not compensated as promised.They also said the DCP did not even contact the lawyers’ body to explain the delay.

They said lawyer Nihar Ranjan Sethi, the victim of the ‘police atricity’, was beaten black and blue by policemen while he was passing through Ravi Talkies square late on Wednesday night. They beat him up even after he told the cops that he was a practicing lawyer.

They said Sethi had been admitted to a hospital and that one of his testicles had to be removed as it was badly damaged in the attack. Police had allegedly kicked Sethi in his scrotum apart from thrashing him with lathis.

The lawyers who are on a ceasework since Friday threatened to continue with their agitation unless the accused policemen are sacked and a compensation amount of Rs 50 lakh is paid to the injured lawyer Sethi.