Vijayawada, November 23: Tension prevailed on the court premises here for sometime today when the police arrested seven lawyers, including D Butchibabu and Ramesh, while they were staging a protest demanding a High Court bench for coastal districts. The arrests were made as per the directive of Central ACP VNV Satyanarayana.
On receiving SMSes from the arrested, a large number of lawyers thronged the court and staged a dharna. A rasta roko was also organised denouncing the arrest of lawyers. Later, the police released the lawyers.
As part of their protest, the lawyers locked the criminal court building and raised slogans demanding setting up of a High Court bench between Vijayawada and Guntur.
Later, Bezawada Bar Association president Chalasani Ajay Kumar and JA C chairman Karnati Rammohana Rao met second additional district judge V Chandrasekharan on the HC bench issue.
Animal husbandry minister Kolusu Parthasarathi visited the court in the evening and met the agitating lawyers. The minister assured that he would take the issue to the notice of chief minister K Rosaiah and law minister Mopidevi Venkataramana.
–Agencies