GUJRANWALA In the ongoing 'bar-police' tension, court officials stood by the police here on Friday and stayed away from work in protest against lawyers torture of a Gujranwala police head constable on Thursday.
They ended the boycott when District Sessions Court Judge Suhail Nasir promised to take legal action against the accused.
Police were conducting raids to arrest the lawyers nominated in a first information report (FIR) registered with the Civil Lines police.
Police said that on Thursday Hasan Ali, nephew of advocate Chaudhry Rafique, started beating Mubashir, a prisoner on trial, outside the court of Judicial Magistrate Azhar Iqbal Ranjha when Mubashir inadvertently hit the foot of Hasan.
Nawaz, head constable with Cantt police, tried to mediate but Hasan called lawyers who thrashed Nawaz, hit him with rods and sticks and tore his uniform.
Civil Lines police registered a case under Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) sections 186, 353, 147 and 149 against Hasan and advocates Chaudhry Rafique, Muhammad Boota Goraya and Mian Asghar Ali and five unidentified people.
Nawaz told Dawn that he had just tried to mediate between Hasan and Mubashir but lawyers thrashed him and Muhammad Ashiq, naib court.
He said Ashiq ran away from the back door of the judges retiring room while lawyers beat him for some time.
As the lawyers of Lahore made the headlines by thrashing and abusing an assistant sub-inspector (ASI), a reporter and a judge, the lawyers of Gujranwala have been more daring by challenging a superintendent of police (SP) in his office.
Civil Lines SP Athar Waheed told Dawn 'terrorist elements' in lawyers had increased as they attacked an executive district officer in Faisalabad and quarreled with a SP in Kasur.
He said on July 11 a few lawyers met him at his office and tried to get his favour using threatening tone. He said lawyers violated his office decorum. He said that 'we are living in an era of bar terrorism'.
He said another FIR against lawyers was under process to be lodged by Mubashir, the handcuffed accused of robbery, who was thrashed by Hasan and his accomplices, after his medical examination. — IS
