Eviction drive: Patna lawyer held for creating obstruction, released

PATNA: The Patna Municipal Corporation removed several illegal structures on the second day of the fresh eviction drive on Sunday even as the police arrested a Patna high court lawyer, Sumit Pandey, for allegedly obstructing a magistrate from discharging his duty.
However, the lawyer, who was charged with obstructing the magistrate, Shabhunath Ram, from discharging his duty during an anti-encroachment drive near Vikas Bhavan under Sachivalaya police station area, was set free at 9pm after a large number of high court advocates, including senior advocate Yogesh Chandra Verma, turned up at Patna civil court.A joint petition was submitted by sub-divisional prosecution officer Sangeeta Kumari and the magistrate, Ram, in the ACJM court, in which it was mentioned that Pandey’s arrest was nothing but a case of mistaken identity. According to the lawyers, Pandey was not involved in the commotion that took place at the site.
Police had produced Pandey in the ACJM court after his arrest. Police said it was on the direction of a senior bureaucrat that Pandey was arrested.
Verma, who is also chairman of coordination committee of all three associations of high court, told TOI over the phone that he spoke to Patna high court Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and divisional commissioner Anand Kishor on the issue.
“Kishor said he had no information about Pandey’s arrest,” Verma said. “We demand a high level inquiry into Pandey’s illegal arrest,” he added.
Kishor, however, told TOI that he was informed about some hooligans obstructing government work. “I asked the officials concerned to take appropriate action against troublemakers,” he added. “Ram had named at least 15 people, including Pandey, in his FIR. It seems that Pandey’s name was wrongly mentioned in the FIR,” Kishor said.
Earlier, SHO Rajesh Kumar had said Pandey was trying to obstruct the anti-encroachment drive.
The SHO said the FIR was lodged under Sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The SHO said administration was involved in removal of several small hotels and sweet shops in front of the Vikash Bhavan when the lawyer reached the spot and attempted to stop authorities from removing encroachments.