Members of the High Court Bar Association of Manipur and the All Manipur Bar Association today abstained from work in protest of an alleged mob attack targeting advocate Huidrom Kenajit Singh.

Singh, an alumnus of Delhi University’s Faculty of Law, is representing a man accused of murder. It is alleged that members of the slain man’s family and others loaded the deceased’s body onto a truck, which was also loaded with rocks, and proceeded to Singh’s residence.

On arriving, the mob started pelting rocks at Singh’s residence. However, timely intervention by the local community led to the situation being swiftly diffused. Sources said that damage to the residence was not significant and that no one was badly hurt. Singh filed a complaint with the Imphal Police on the same day.

Asserting that an accused had the right to be defended, advocate Boboy Potsangbam condemned the incident. He said that there was a need to impart basic legal education to all residents of the state.

The lawyer’s bodies have called upon authorities to take swift action against the perpetrators. They have also condemned the prevailing culture of mobs taking the law into their own hands.

Image Courtesy: Boboy Potsangbam