BANGALORE: Traffic on major roads of Bangalore was paralysed for close to seven hours on Tuesday as advocates held a protest at the Mysore Bank Circle demanding suspension of a police constable for allegedly beating up a fellow
advocate. Ceding to their demands, City Police Commissioner Jyothiprakash Mirji ordered the suspension of the constable who had filed a case against the advocate. But by then, hundreds of Bangaloreans had been stuck in a gridlock for most part of the day, with nowhere to go.
The advocates alleged that lawyer Balakrishna, who was riding a motorcycle with two others, was assaulted by constable Arun Kumar attached to Tyagarajanagar police station on Saturday. As around 1,000 advocates gathered at the Mysore Bank Circle around 11.30 am, senior police officers tried to persuade them to withdraw the protest. The advocates demanded that Home Minister R Ashok or Mirji arrive at the spot.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) T Suneel Kumar’s efforts to pacify them also failed.
Mirji, who was greeted with slogans, also failed to persuade them as they rejected his assurance of taking action against the constable after a preliminary inquiry, for which he even suggested that an advocate of their choice could be present. After his suggestions to go to court demanding an inquiry from any agency were turned down, Mirji left the scene. When reporters asked him why police were soft on the agitating advocates, Mirji said, “All situations are not the same.”
With no options left, the top brass decided to suspend the “errant” constable and informed Advocates’ Association president K N Subba Reddy, who was in a meeting with advocates to discuss their course of action. They then decided to call off the protest as the police had ceded to their demand.
Finally by 6.30 pm, traffic resumed on K G Road.