Tension in Orissa over lawyer's death

Fifteen others, including Superintendent of Police, Cuttack(rural), R K Mishra, were  injured in the clash.

Sources in the state home department here said trouble started in the Bagalpur area after the recovery of a body of a local villager on Thursday. The local residents have been  blocking the nearby state highway since Sunday morning demanding adequate compensation for the dead villager’s family and a probe into the incident.

When a police party led by the Cuttack(rural) SP landed in the area on Monday morning to clear the road blockade, the mob which had gathered there attacked the police who resorted to lathi charge and firing.

Lawyer Bishnu Dash was hit by a bullet fired by the police when he was reportedly passing through the area riding his motor bike.

As soon as the news of the lawyer’s death reached the state high court in Cuttack, the members of the court’s criminal bar resorted to a road blockade in front of the high court demanding a compensation of Rs 20 lakh for the dead lawyer’s family and immediate action against the policemen responsible for his death.
Dash was a permanent member of the High Court’s Criminal Bar Association.