Bharat Bandh concludes peacefully; administration takes precaution

Thanks to the sensible precautionary steps adopted by the District Administration and the City Police, the Bharadh Bandh passed off peacefully in the city.

Amid the call for Bharat Bandh on August 9 by a section of the dalit group, the city remained largely peaceful, with no clashes or incidents of violence being reported. No untoward incident was reported till the time this report was written. While public transport, like buses, autos and tempos were impacted to some extent, most of the business establishments, shops, government offices and some educational institutions remained open. However, section 144 of the CrPC which was earlier imposed in the city and surrounding areas will remain in effect till the 13th.

Earlier the District Collector Ashok Kumar Verma and the Gwalior SP Navneet Bhasin had appealed to the political parties and the public not to participate in the bandh and maintain peace and brotherhood in the city.

They had also reminded the people of how the city had suffered and lives lost during the April 2 bandh. The collector and the SP also assured the public of deployment of enough forces on the roads to ensure peace and safety. The administration and the police also kept a close vigil on the social media sites, especially whatsapp, facebook and twitter to ensure that no treacherous rumors were spread by anti-social elements.

Throughout the day the city remained under the watchful eyes of the drone cameras while 800 police personnel kept vigil in 50 fixed pickets. About 100 mobile vans apart from the anti-riot vehicles too were pressed into service.

Ten police pickets were formed on the Highway to ensure that no troublemakers reached the city. Except for the beefed up security and policemen with batons seen at every nook and corner of the city, especially in the sensitive localities of Morar, Tatipur and Hajira, there was no visible effect of the bandh anywhere in the city.

Talking to the media persons SP Navneet Bhasin said that section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed in the city and a few people suspected to be troublemakers have been detained. He added that a strict warning had been sent out not to take out any kind of rallies or processions besides the prohibition of gathering of 5 or more people at one place. He thanked all the police personnel engaged in keeping peace and the general public for their cooperation in keeping the city safe and peaceful.