Chennai, April 10 (Inditop) Two lawyers were arrested in the early hours of Friday and immediately released on bail on charges of insulting national leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and assaulting Janata Party president Subramaniam Swamy in February.

A. Kayalvizhi and R. Shiva Sankaran were produced at the residence of a magistrate and got bail immediately, a police official said.

They were part of the lawyers’ protest in February over the central government allegedly collaborating with Colombo against ethnic minority Tamils in Sri Lanka. The protests included an assault on Swamy and tearing pictures of the prime minister, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse.

On Feb 19, the police and lawyers clashed in the Madras High Court, resulting in the burning down of a police station within the complex and destruction of public property.

Lawyers struck work and demanded the suspension of Chennai Police Commissioner K. Radhakrishnan and Director General of Police K.P. Jain. Lawyers had returned to work after a month-long strike following the high court ordering the suspension of the senior police officials three weeks ago.

The officials are yet to be suspended by the government.