Army officer alleges assault by lawyers in Panchkula court, FIR registered

Chandigarh, Jul 12 (PTI) The Haryana Police have registered an FIR after an Army officer alleged that he was assaulted and wrongfully confined by some lawyers inside the Panchkula district court complex when he had gone there in connection with the hearing of his marital dispute case. An FIR under various provisions of the BNS was registered by Panchkula police against advocate Maninder Singh Bitta on Friday on the complaint of Lieutenant Colonel Ashish Chandok. Among the BNS Sections added in the FIR are 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 117(2) (causing grievous hurt), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 191(2) (rioting) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) on the Army officer's complaint. Bitta on Sunday denied all Chandok’s allegations, saying that he was being targeted by the Army officer because he was the opposing counsel in his marital dispute case. As per the FIR, Chandok, serving at Chandimandir Military Station in Panchkula, said that in the past one year he and his wife were staying separately. Three cases have been filed against Chandok by his wife at the Panchkula District Courts. "On July 9, during the hearing of my cases at Family Courts Panchkula, opponent counsel Maninder Singh Bitta and his associates misbehaved with me and later on called 10-17 lawyers, who then misbehaved and physically assaulted me outside the courtroom of Family Courts," he said in his complaint. He further alleged that Bitta and other lawyers took him hostage in the chamber of another advocate and again assaulted him. "Maninder Singh Bitta and his associates then threatened me to write a raazinama (compromise agreement), else they would not leave me and beat me. Under their threats, they forced me to sign a raazinama, which I was not able to read. I could only see the raazinama was of 5-6 lines," Chandok said. He claimed that he was allowed to leave the Panchkula courts only after he signed the letter. Police said that Chandok was medically examined at Civil Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula, during which two blunt injuries were found on him. However, advocate Bitta denied allegations made by Chandok, calling it baseless. "In fact, I have lodged a complaint with the Panchkula police stating that it was Lt Col Chandok who tried to assault me and even abused me in the court premises. I had approached the police immediately after the incident and submitted a complaint," Bitta said on Sunday. "I have also sought footage of the CCTV cameras in the court complex. The procedure takes some time, as the high court’s approval is needed before the footage is provided,” he said. Bitta claimed that the Army officer may have held some grudge against him as he is the opposing counsel in his marital dispute case. "He came from behind and pushed me with an elbow and used abusive language without any provocation," Bitta alleged. PTI SUN VSD KSI KSI