The intense dispute between the district collector of Sambalpur and the agitating lawyers ended in a peaceful note today with both sides reacing an agreement. “The meeting ended in a cordial atmosphere with both the parties resolving difference between them,” Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), northen division, K C Barik said. According to the agreement, the Collector Mrinalini Darswal would withdraw cases against the lawyers who allegedly ransacked her official residence and also manhandled her.
Both the parties had lodged FIR and counter FIR against each other. While the collector alleged that the lawyers manhandled her, the Bar Association accused her of abusing some members of ther community. Demanding removal of Darswal, the lawyers of the entire western Odisha had observed a bandh. “We have decided to withdraw cease work agitation after the collector regretted the matter,” Bar Association leader P K Rath told reporters after attending a meeting convened by the RDC. “The incident was deeply regreatble,” Darswal told reporters after the meeting.
