A two-hour bandh called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad Saturday to protest against the police action on demonstrators in Shimla and Mandi and against the alleged unauthorised construction of mosques in Himachal Pradesh evoked a mixed response with markets remaining partially closed in several towns across state. The Shimla police released photographs of the suspects involved in stone pelting on the security personnel in Sanjauli on Wednesday. Leader of the Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur, meanwhile, asked why the government wasn’t engaging in dialogue with the protesters to assure them of justice.
The bandh, supported by some traders’ bodies, saw protest marches being held in Kullu, Chamba, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Poanta Sahib and other places. There was not much impact in Shimla, where a bandh was observed on Thursday. Vice president of Shimla Beopar Mandal, Rajkumar Aggarwal, said that they had no information about the bandh call by the VHP. He said shops in Shimla were open in almost all the markets.
However, shops mostly remained closed in state capital’s Sunni where police had cordoned off a mosque with the protesters demanding its demolition alleging that the structure was illegal and stands on government land.
The protesters, including a sizeable number of women, were seen reciting Hanuman Chalisa during the bandh in Hamirpur and Chamba. In other parts of the state, religious slogans were raised during the protest march. In Palampur, some protesters overturned two unoccupied stalls in the market.
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