Cuttack: The National Lawyers' Forum on Friday alleged in Orissa High Court that the police officers were trying their best to "distort the facts" in the case of "physical abuse and assault" on a lawyer by the cops at Nuabazar on August 28.

Forum convener Sabyasachi Mohapatra made the allegation in a rejoinder to the counter affidavit filed by deputy commissioner of police Akhileswar Singh to the two petitions, one of which was filed by him. Cuttack Bar Association president Umakanta Nanda had filed the other petition.

The two petitions have sought judicial inquiry by a retired high court judge into the "insults and assaults on the honour, dignity and authority of the advocates and immediate action to apprehend the concerned police personnel who physically abused and assaulted the lawyer".

The high court had passed order for a CID-crime branch probe on September 4 after Singh filed the counter affidavit, claiming that the plea for judicial probe was "devoid of any merit" both in facts and in law. In his rejoinder to it, Mohapatra alleged that the DCP "did not maintain transparency as well as fairness" at the time of filing the counter affidavit. Rather many material facts which show their "malafide intention and oblique motive" were suppressed.

"The police officers, as it seems, have taken it as challenge, for which they are trying their best to distort the facts to divert the attention of the court," Mohapatra alleged in his rejoinder.

"It is submitted that at the place of occurrence there is a jewellery shop, the CCTV of which had recorded the incidents. But, it came to our knowledge that police officers later deleted it. It is pertinent to mention that the footage of that particular period of time of the incident is missing. It is clearly an attempt by the police to erase the evidence against them as that would have been the best evidence against them under the Evidence Act," Mohapatra further alleged.

The CID-crime branch was expected to file a report on the incident. But, no counsel for the government appeared in court. Taking into consideration the cease work by lawyers the division bench of Chief Justice K.S. Jhaveri and Justice K.R. Mohapatra posted the matter to after two weeks for hearing.