Supreme Court Bar Association: Pro-BNP, AL lawyers get into brawl

Pro-BNP and Awami League-leaning lawyers yesterday scuffled with each other during holding separate programmes on the Supreme Court Bar Association office premises over its recent annual polls.

The incident left around two dozen lawyers injured.

The SCBA secretary's office room was also ransacked and its door and windows were vandalised in the afternoon.

Leaders of the two organisations blamed each other for the incident.

Abdun Nur Dulal, SCBA secretary and Bangabandhu Awami Ainjibi Parishad leader, told reporters at his office that pro-BNP lawyers, led by AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal, Kayser Kamal, Gazi Kamrul Islam Sajal, Abdul Zabbar Bhuiyan and Morshed Al Mamun, attacked the pro-AL lawyers and vandalised and ransacked his office room in a planned manner.

"At least 30 lawyers, including some female ones of Bangabandhu Awami Ainjibi Parishad, were injured in the attack," he said.

Dulal said the pro-AL lawyers were holding a "peace meeting" in front of the office rooms of the SCBA president and secretary like other days protesting the anarchy by pro-BNP lawyers.

Appropriate legal action must be taken against them, he added.

However, Kayser Kamal, secretary general of Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, the platform of pro-BNP lawyers, alleged that the pro-AL lawyers scuffled among themselves and vandalised the office room of the SCBA secretary to cover up their occupation of offices of the SCBA president and secretary through holding a farcical election on March 15-16.

Some pro-BNP lawyers were tortured and injured by the pro-AL lawyers during the incident, he told The Daily Star.

Kayser urged the chief justice to take necessary steps to address the crisis in the SCBA.

Pro-BNP lawyers are demonstrating on the SCBA office premises, demanding a date be fixed for holding fresh polls to the SCBA under an acceptable election conducting subcommittee.

In a counter move, AL-backed lawyers are staging "peace meeting" in front of the SCBA president's office room in protest of snatching ballots and vandalising furniture by "pro-BNP lawyers" on March 15 on the SCBA office premises during the polls".

They also formed a human chain on the premises yesterday and brought out a procession, protesting "the anarchy created by pro-BNP lawyers and the outsiders".

In the election, pro-AL lawyers won all 14 SCBA posts, including president and secretary.