Patna, July 14 - Hundreds of lawyers of the Bihar High Court decided to abstain from work from July 15 in solidarity with colleagues in the Ara civil court where a lawyer was killed in a bomb blast last week.

Unhappy over the Bihar government's response, the coordination committee of all the three lawyers' associations of Bihar High Court decided to abstain from work Wednesday.

'We will abstain from work to express anger and serious concern for the safety and security of lawyers in the state,' said Y.C. Verma, a coordinator of the committee. He threatened that lawyers may launch an indefinite strike if the government did not pay heed to their demands.

Verma said that in the last two years, 24 lawyers were killed across the state. Last month three lawyers were killed. 'It is high time for the government to install metal detectors and foolproof security in all courts in the state,' he said.

The coordination committee also demanded a payment of Rs.20 lakh and free medical treatment to the family of the lawyer who was killed.

--Indo-Asan News Service

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