Police raid infuriates legal fraternity

Court grants bail to four advocates involved in the incident

OKARA: The tension between the lawyers and police escalated after the police raided the houses of three of four lawyers, who were nominated in the FIR for thrashing a police official in Okara a few days ago.

All the four nominated lawyers got pre-arrest interim bails from the court of Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) and also filed three petitions in different courts on the plea that police unlawfully conducted raids. They demanded registration of cases against the complainant/victim ASI.

Earlier, the four lawyers, including Abdul Rehman Dogar, Rai Zulfiqar Mumdera, Malik Noman and Rana Azeem along with others thrashed ASI Javad Aslam of Sadr police station outside the court of ASJ Raja Safdar over a minor dispute.

District Bar Association General Secretary Rai Iqrar Kharal told The Express Tribune that after the incident, DBA President Zahid Bokhari held meeting with two sub-divisional police officers to resolve the issue amicably which was agreed by both parties.

However, the police registered the case against the accused lawyers and their co-accomplices.

Later, the police conducted raids at the houses of Advocate Abdul Rehman Dogar, Malik Noman and Rana Azeem to arrest them. But the said lawyers had earlier submitted bail petitions in the respective courts which were granted. Besides, the courts issued notice to police to furnish record on March 28 (today).

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2017.