Lawyer Tries Self-Immolation At Rohini Court, Says Cops Using Media, FIRs To Intimidate Legal Fraternity

A lawyer tried self-immolation at Rohini Court in Delhi on Wednesday. The lawyer has been identified as Ashish Chaudhary. Sources say that he used some inflammable liquid to set himself on fire. But other lawyers saved him in time and took him to the dispensary situated within the court premises. Despite the burning sensation, the lawyer took part in protest against cops and was seen chanting ‘vakeel ekta zindabad’. According to Chaudhary, the policemen were using media and the FIRs to intimidate the lawyers. Citing the FIR filed over the Saket Court incident, Chaudhary alleged that FIR included stringent sections under robbery  to create pressure on the lawyers.

The incident comes a day after unprecedented protests by Delhi police, in which thousands of its personnel on Tuesday laid siege outside the Police Headquarters for 11 hours and staged a virtual revolt sparked by two attacks on their colleagues before calling of their stir following multiple appeals including from their chief.

The protests in which families of the personnel also took to streets were withdrawn in the night after an assurance by senior officers that their grievances will be addressed.

The protests were triggered by the two attacks on their colleagues, one on Monday outside Saket District Court and another on Saturday at the Tis Hazari Courts Complex after a parking dispute between an on-duty policeman and a lawyer which led to at least 20 security personnel and several advocates being injured. Two FIRs were registered against unidentified persons, who were seen in a video hitting a uniformed policeman on a motorcycle with his elbow and slapping him outside the Saket court.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police has submitted a report on the clash between lawyers and police at the Tis Hazari court to The Union Home Ministry. It is a factual report in which Delhi Police has given details of the circumstances leading to Saturday's incident and the action taken after it, a Home Ministry official said told PTI. It does not cover what happened after Saturday, including an incident on Monday in which a a group of lawyers assaulted a policeman outside the Saket court, he said.

At least 20 police personnel and several lawyers were injured and many vehicles were damaged in the incident. The lawyers alleged that the police fired at them.

The Delhi High Court on Sunday ordered a judicial inquiry into the violence by a team comprising a retired judge, Directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Intelligence Bureau and Vigilance. On the Delhi High Court''s order, Special Commissioner (in-charge Law and Order) Sanjay Singh was removed on Monday and Special Commissioner R.S. Krishnaiya was given the additional charge.