Lawyers protest advocate's killing, uproar in UP Assembly

Functioning of courts in Uttar Pradesh today came to a standstill as lawyers went on flash strike to voice outrage over the killing of an advocate inside a court premises in Allahabad allegedly by a policeman.
The matter was vociferously raised by the Opposition in the state Assembly with members creating uproar, leading to disruptions in proceedings and repeated adjournments.
As soon as the House met for the day, Leader of Opposition Swami Prasad Maurya raised the matter and termed the incident as an example of police terror. He was backed by BJP and Congress members who jointly demanded a discussion and a judicial probe.

Sub-Inspector Shailendra Singh, who allegedly shot 30-year-old advocate Nabi Ahmed in the Allahabad district court premises yesterday, still remained untraceable. A case of murder has been registered against him, police said.
"The SI has not been arrested so far. He is absconding. Efforts are on to nab him," IG (Admin) R K Swarnkar told reporters in Lucknow.
He said 11 cases have been lodged in connection with yesterday's violence, arson and firing.

The Uttar Pradesh Bar Council condemned the incident and demanded immediate arrest of the erring accused.
Heavy deployment of police force, Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) were put in place around the high court and the district court premises in Allahabad to prevent untoward incident during the protest.

There was no report of any untoward incident from anywhere in the state, Swarnkar said.