Bangalore, Jan 18 (IANS) A large number of Bangalore lawyers will face criminal cases for the massive traffic gridlock their protest created in the city, Karnataka police chief Shankar Bidari said Wednesday.

“We have decided to file criminal cases against the advocates who held the city to ransom yesterday (Tuesday),” Bidari told reporters after getting a 20-page report from city Police Commissioner B.G. Jyothiprakash Mirji on the chaos the lawyers’ protest created.

Hundreds of lawyers caused massive traffic snarls for over six hours in Bangalore’s central business district Tuesday as they held protests demanding immediate suspension of a police constable for beating up one of their colleagues.

The protest was held at the Mysore Bank Circle in the heart of the city, blocking traffic movement on the Kempegowda Road, one of the busiest roads in Bangalore, from around 12.30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The road leads to city’s main bus station - both city and long-distance - as well as the central railway station. The blockade forced a large number of long-distance travelers to carry their luggage over two km to the bus station and three km to reach the railway station.

“Those who have taken law into their hands will be brought to book,” Bidari said as the lawyers’ action and police failure to take action to end it drew flak from the angry public.

Bidari said henceforth criminal case will be registered against any person who holds up traffic on a road for over five minutes.

The lawyers claimed that their colleague Balakrishna Babu was severely beaten up by a constable for not carrying driving license while riding a two-wheeler Jan 14 in west Bangalore. Police version is that the lawyer was not beaten but hauled up for riding without licence and carrying two people on the pillion in violation of traffic rules.