GUWAHATI, March 25 - Goalpara police has submitted a chargesheet at a local court against eight lawyers who had allegedly assaulted Goalpara Foreigners Tribunal judge Ajoy Phukan last month.
�The chargesheet was submitted before the CJM court yesterday. Investigations show that there was a deliberate attempt made to prevent him (Foreigners Tribunal judge Ajoy Phukan) from discharging his sovereign duties,� Goalpara Superintendent of Police Amitava Sinha told The Assam Tribune over telephone.
Those named in the chargesheet are lawyers Shahjahan Ali, Nazrul Islam, Omar Farukh Choudhury, Anisul Haque, Mir Abdul Baten, Anwar Hussain, Abdul Hamid and Mainul Haque.
They face charges under IPC Sections 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 147 (rioting), 448 (house trespass), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) read with Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act.
Police had arrested 10 persons, but could not establish involvement of two of them. All of them are in judicial custody now.
The SP said identification parades, seizures, earwitness accounts, etc., establish their involvement in the incident.
The Foreigners Tribunal member was assaulted by the lawyers following a heated argument on February 15 last over a judgement in a doubtful-voter case. His office was also ransacked in an incident that had triggered an uproar in the State.
