Mumbai: Lawyers in the city protested at the Azad Maidan demanding enactment of the Advocate Protection Act in the state in the wake of the double murder of lawyer couple Rajaram Jaywant Adhav and Manisha Adhav in Rahuri, Ahmednagar last week. However, the protest took a violent turn when they were not allowed to move out of Azad Maidan as they were to take a walk to Mantralaya.
The City Civil and Sessions Bar Association had on Thursday passed a resolution to abstain from court hearings in protest of the murder.
Advocate Ravi Jadhav, president of the association, said, “The protest was held peacefully but as soon as they tried to move out of the maidan, they were stopped by the police.”
Jadhav alleged that the police placed barricades to prevent lawyers from taking the march. Jadhav said that in the attempt to move out, the lawyers had to push the barricades and some also tried to climb up to move out. “In the melee, two lawyers, including a woman, sustained injuries. They had to be shifted to hospital,” he added.
Dr Pravin Mundhe, Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone-1, denied the allegation of lathicharge and said, “There was no lathicharge during the agitation. They demanded to go to Mantralaya, and forcefully attempted to open the barricades. The police only stopped them there. We have footage to support this.”
Mundhe further said that the lawyers were stopped to take out a march as there was no permission for it. “Lawyers obtained permission to hold agitation at Azad Maidan, but they were denied permission to go to Mantralaya,” Mundhe said.
The lawyer couple were killed on January 27 by a group of five men as the couple refused to pay ransom of Rs5 lakh to one of their clients.
