In a startling incident, four persons attempted to commit suicide by consuming phenyl in a Gujarat high court courtroom on Thursday expressing their frustration over the court granting an anticipatory bail to a banker.
Jayshree Panchal and her husband Shailesh Panchal, Hardik Patel, and Manoj Vaishnav were rushed to the nearby Sola Civil Hospital. Their health was declared stable and they were conscious, according to the emergency medical service of the State-run facility.
Cause that led to attempted suicide
The Panchals were complainants in a case involving four people, including the general manager of Colour Merchant Cooperative Bank Kinnar Shah. He was accused of disbursing a loan of ₹1.60 crore by mortgaging their house without the Panchals’ knowledge. They had filed an FIR against Shah on January 13 at the Anandnagar police station in Ahmedabad.
Fearing his arrest following this, Shah filed a plea for anticipatory bail, which was granted by Justice Nirzar Desai.
Jayshree, who was sitting in the second row during the hearing, stood up and shouted in protest against the court’s decision just after Justice Desai had finished dictating the order and the lawyers involved in the case began to disperse.
She lifted a bottle and began to drink from it. Three others immediately followed suit. Police officials at the high court rushed into the courtroom to prevent them from drinking any more of the liquid. The incident was caught on camera while the court proceedings were being streamed live.
Ambulance van ready for any emergency, their condition is now stable
“One 108 ambulance van is kept ready on the high court campus to meet any emergency,” said Pruthvirajsinh Jadeja, president of the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association. So, the four people were rushed to the hospital for treatment.”
Their condition was reported to be stable, official sources said.
