2 UP cops suspended after 40 undertrials found resting in lawyers’ chambers

Two police personnel were suspended hours after 40 undertrials were allegedly found resting in the chambers of their lawyers and not reported to the in-charge assigned for their counting at the time of their arrival for hearing of cases against them at the civil and sessions court in Wazirganj here on Wednesday.

“Those suspended were identified as Dharmendra Nayak and Kamlesh Kumar,” said a Lucknow police press note released late at night. They were sent to the lines.

The irregularity surfaced after office bearers of the Central Bar Association (CBA) conducted a surprise check and raised an alarm, informing the chief judicial magistrate, the joint director prosecution, and other officials about the same around 6pm on Wednesday.

CBA vice-president Ashutosh Singh Chauhan said the association received complaints from fellow advocates about the irregularities.

“We were told by fellow advocates that the jail inmates coming to court for hearings go to the chambers of their counsel/advocates where they take rest, and sometimes they were seen operating laptops and computers even in the chambers of their counsels,” Chauhan said.

He said the CBA had complained about the same to the JD Prosecution and other officials concerned in the past.

“Around 5.30pm, I, along with CBA president Arvind Kushwaha, general secretary Amresh Pal Singh, and a few others, went to the chambers where the jail inmates were allegedly found resting. To our surprise, around 40 inmates were found in different chambers of their counsels and had not reported to the in-charge of the lock-up at the court,” Chauhan said.