Kolkata, May 2 (H.S.) : The Calcutta High Court has issued contempt notices to seven senior police officers in connection with the lathicharge on lawyers in Howrah six years ago. On Friday, the division bench directed all seven officers to appear before the court in person on June 25.
The officers named in the notice are IPS officers Bhavana Gupta, Vishal Garg, VSR Anant Nag, Ghulam Sarwar, Abhijit Bandyopadhyay, Bipin Tamang, and Rajarshi Dutta. The order was passed by a bench comprising Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Arindam Mukherjee.
The incident dates back to April 24, 2019, when a dispute broke out between lawyers and municipal staff at the Howrah Municipal Corporation premises over bike parking. As the situation escalated, police resorted to a lathicharge, injuring several lawyers. The High Court had taken suo motu cognizance of the matter and initiated proceedings.
Following a prolonged investigation, the court observed negligence and defiance of its earlier directives by the police authorities. On this basis, the seven officers have been summoned to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
