Woman Circle Officer slaps advocate amid row over parking, apologises after lawyers stage protest in Ajmer

Lawyers in Ajmer district’s Kishangarh town boycotted work and staged a protest after a woman Circle Officer allegedly slapped an advocate during a dispute over vehicle parking in the market. A video footage of the incident went viral on social media, prompting the lawyers to demand action against the police officer.

Lawyers at the Ajmer district headquarters also took to streets on Monday, leading to disruption of traffic on Ajmer-Jaipur road. The matter was resolved after the police officer, Anju Yadav, recorded a video with the advocate, Babulal Bagaria, and tendered an apology.

Mr. Bagaria had parked his car on the roadside in the town’s main market over the week-end and gone to buy vegetables. When he returned, Ms. Yadav, looking after the traffic management, questioned him about the parking, saying it was not allowed at the spot.

The advocate later said in a statement that he apologised and assured the officer that he would park the vehicle at a designated space in future. “Despite this, Ms. Yadav took my car key, slapped me in front of numerous bystanders and threatened me,” Mr. Bagaria said.

Following the incident, members of the Bar Association gathered in the market and staged a protest demanding suspension of the police officer. Lawyers in Ajmer also staged a similar demonstration and blocked the road outside the court premises.

Meanwhile, Ms. Yadav also made an allegedly offensive comment showing off her power on a social media platform. Later, on the intervention of senior police officers, Ms. Yadav met Mr. Bagaria and expressed her regret over the incident.

In a video shot with the advocate sitting beside her, Ms. Yadav said she had no malice towards Mr. Bagaria and she should not have behaved in that manner during the arguments. “Police and lawyers in Kishangarh have always enjoyed cordial relations. I do hope these relations will be maintained in future,” she said.

Kishangarh Bar Association president Dinesh Kumar Jat said both the sides had reached an agreement and the lawyers had accepted Ms. Yadav’s apology, after which the issue had been resolved.