Mumbai: Shops down shutters in Worli as mark of respect to Vilas Shinde

According to local residents, all the political parties in the area observed a peaceful bandh. Except for a few utility stores that were kept open, other shops had their shutters down.

Bhola Upadhyay, owner of Lokseva Dairy adjacent to Mahindra Towers, said it was left to the shopkeepers of they wished to participate in the bandh. “There was no political pressure, keeping our shops closed was a voluntary call by one and all. The Force needs to be respected and this is our way of showing solidarity,” said Upadhyay.

Locals could be found sitting outside closed shops discussing details of Shinde’s death.

“Worli is in mourning. Not everyone knew him personally but he was one of our own,” said Sushant Ingle, a cobbler in the area. Sushila Pawar, wife of a police constable who resides in the same neigbourhood, said, “We are very scared whenever our husbands go out for duty. Always, our worry is when they will return home.”

“Our kin are entrusted with the job of protecting others. They should at least be provided with guns or lathis while on duty,” said Urmi Yadav, whose father is a traffic constable.

Shinde, a resident of Satara, was given a funeral with full state honours Thursday.