Lucknow, Sep 15 : The Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh has announced that the statewide strike by lawyers was being called off after a successful dialogue with the State Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra. This announcement brings an end to a 15-day long protest that had been initiated by lawyers across Uttar Pradesh since August 30 following alleged police lathi-charge on advocates in Hapur. The Chief Secretary has assured that all cases registered against advocates during this period of protests will be dropped. "The talks with Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra were very positive," said Shiv Kishore Gaur, President of Uttar Pradesh Bar Council. Gaur also announced that a committee has been constituted to look into matters concerning advocate protection laws. He said that this committee would include representation from both the government and Bar Council and would work towards passing a proposal for such law within specified time limits. Gaur added that their demand for suspension and transfer of guilty police officers in Hapur was accepted by the government. "The government has accepted our demand for suspension of guilty police officers and transfer of top police officers in Hapur," he said while announcing their decision to call off the strike. In an interesting turn of events, Ashok Kumar Singh, President of Allahabad High Court Bar Association, seemed unaware about these developments when he declared continuation of their strike on Friday. He said they will discuss these latest updates from the Bar Council in their meeting scheduled on Friday morning and then decide the future course of action. /IANS