Punjab Advocate Arrested For Assaulting His 73-Year-Old Disabled Mother After Video Goes Viral, Bar Association Calls For Cancellation Of His License

The Punjab Police has arrested an Advocate practising in Rupnagar District Court, Punjab, after a video showing him mercilessly beating his 73-year-old disabled mother in the presence of his wife and son surfaced on X (formerly Twitter).

The individual identified as Advocate Ankur Verma was arrested on October 28, 2023, for the offences under Sections 327, 342, and 323 of the Indian Penal Code, in addition to charges under Section 24 of the Senior Citizens Act. The Court has remanded the Advocate to Police Custody for one day.

As evident from the viral video, the elderly woman's grandson spilt water on her bed and falsely accused the old lady of urinating on the bed, leading to her son assaulting her. Furthermore, the video clearly captures the lawyer repeatedly slapping his mother, covering her mouth, and violently pulling her hair.

Upon the emergence of the CCTV footage, the elderly woman's daughter reached out to an NGO, Manukhta Di Sewa Society, for assistance and together with the Punjab Police, took action to rescue her mother and formally reported the distressing incident involving her lawyer brother, his wife, and their minor son.

In response to the incident, which has been termed "highly condemnable," Dr. Baljit Kaur, the Minister for Social Security, Women, and Child Development in Punjab, has ordered an investigation into the matter.

Furthermore, speaking to Verdictum, Amrik Singh Katwal, the President of the District Bar Association Rupnagar, expressed strong condemnation for such deplorable actions by an Advocate. Katwal also indicated that the Executive body of the Bar Association has unanimously decided to revoke the membership of the accused Advocate.

Also, he expressed their intention to write to the Bar Council of Punjab and the High Court of Punjab & Haryana, urging them to suspend the Advocate's license.