Odisha lawyers are upset. They are planning protests against Balasore police. This follows the arrest of an advocate. The advocate is Purusottam Das. He is accused of misbehaving with an IAS officer. Lawyers claim the allegations are false.

BHUBANESWAR: Lawyers in Odisha have warned of protests against Balasore police following the recent arrest of their colleague, who was accused of misbehaving with a woman IAS probationer. The lawyers maintain that these allegations are false and baseless. Purusottam Das, a 70-year-old senior advocate, was arrested by Sahadevkhunta police on Tuesday after the young civil servant filed a complaint on June 7. According to her report, Das and another man unlawfully entered her room at Balasore Circuit House on June 6 evening. The complainant stated that they were ‘intoxicated’ and misbehaved with her. She reported that they allegedly intimidated her by claiming their association with an MLA. Das was arrested on Tuesday, but received bail the same day. On Thursday, Das filed a counter-complaint against the IAS trainee, alleging she physically attacked him at the police station while officers were present. He demanded immediate verification of the CCTV footage to substantiate his allegation. Das claimed police detained him at the station on Monday, a day before his arrest. As per his complaint, “The IAS officer stormed into the police station, caught hold of my neck and assaulted me. She hurled abuses on me and threatened me to frame me in false case. I was arrested and produced in court the next day.” Das refuted the IAS probationer’s accusations. “I had visited the Circuit House to meet an MLA and accidentally entered her unlocked room while searching for the legislator. I offered apologies upon realising my mistake. But she responded with hostility and escalated the matter.” Bibhu Prasad Tripathy, president of All Odisha Lawyers Association and senior high court advocate, called the situation regrettable. “We demand disciplinary actions against the erring Sahadevkhunta station officials and the trainee IAS officer. We will protest if our demand remains unfulfilled. She must know how to behave with a 70 year old lawyer. She cooked up a cock and bull story, and the police acted irresponsibly by arresting the lawyer,” Tripathy said. Balasore Bar Association president Keshab Acharya criticised the police response and insisted on immediate registration of Das’s FIR against the IAS officer. Police justified their actions. “Anyone who violates law will face action. We have acted as per law. The allegations of the lawyer are being verified,” a senior police officer said.