Protesting ‘extortion’,shopkeepers block road

Shopkeeper Sunil Gupta said,“Yesterday a person named Deepak came to my shop and forcibly took away some clothes without paying money. This has happened many times in the past. He threatened that I should pay him Rs 5,000 every month if I wanted to live in peace and also threatened other shopkeepers to pay the amount.”

Sandeep said,“Deepak came to our shop again in the morning and threatened us but the police took no action.” The shopowners claimed the police lodged a complaint after much persuasion,and when no action was taken,they closed the market today morning. Initially they held the protest inside the market but later moved towards the road near the shooting range where the police stopped them. They,however,sat on dharna. The shopowners also raised the issue of nuisance being created due to the presence of a liquor vend in the area. Local councillor Mayor Kamlesh reached the spot and pacified the protestors. She asked the police to ensure that the accused are arrested. “Regular patrolling should be done in the market till 10 pm. If the liquor vend is unauthorised,it should be closed. We have asked the Administration to install CCTV cameras but to no avail,” said Kamlesh. The crowd dispersed after the police gave them an assurance that the accused would be arrested by evening. Later,Deepak was arrested on charges of criminal intimidation,theft and extortion. DSP (South) J S Khaira assured residents that immediate action would be taken against other accused.