BANGALORE: In January this year, the legal fraternity hung its head in shame when the lawyers protesting paralysed Bangalore for over seven hours.
Over 1,000 lawyers stalled traffic at Mysore Bank Circle to get justice for Balakrishna, a lawyer who was allegedly manhandled by the traffic police, on charges of a traffic rule violation.
The lawyers demanded the suspension of the police constable for his alleged ‘high handedness’.
The cops stated that the lawyer Balakrishna had broken a set of serious laws by first triple-riding on a two-wheeler, the rider not wearing a helmet, entering a no-entry zone and failing to produce a licence when demanded.
The lawyers manhandled a constable on duty at the City Civil Court and drove out the policemen who had arrived to check the security. The lawyers had also allegedly drove out media persons.
It is said that the government and Home Department failed to register cases even when lawyers manhandled many cops openly.
It was then that the media, both print and electronic, highlighted the plight of the common man because of these protests.
Finally, Director General &Inspector General of Police Shankar Bidari stepped in and slapped criminal cases against 30 lawyers who caused massive traffic gridlock.
However, till date, even in the face of another protest, which rocked the city on Friday, nothing has been heard on this issue from either the Police Commissioner or the DG&IGP. The common public had to face a lot of difficulties on that day for over seven hours and the traffic was thrown out of control with hundreds of vehicles stranded on roads.