A constable was injured during stone-pelting in the Bhujpura area of Aligarh on Wednesday morning when the police tried to pacify two vegetable vendors, official sources said.
“The vegetable market of the area opens from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. during the lockdown. When a police team went to enforce the lockdown, they found two vegetable vendors fighting with each other. When the team tried to pacify them, some people started throwing stones at the police. In the process, one police constable received minor injuries,” said District Magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh. “The miscreants are being identified and an FIR will be registered against them. Meanwhile, the administration has decided that the Bhujpura vegetable market will remain shut on Wednesday. The residents could buy vegetables from the exhibition ground vegetable market in the morning slot,” he said.
Situation tense
Local sources said the situation was tense in the communally sensitive area. Some locals alleged that one community joined forces with the police and pelted stones at the other. “Some differences were brewing between vendors of the two communities in the area. On Wednesday, the problem started because of the high-handedness of the chowkidar posted at the vegetable market,” said a local resident, refusing to be identified. Superintendent of Police (City) Abhishek Kumar said he didn’t receive any evidence to suggest any communal angle in the incident. “If somebody has any evidence or complaint against a policeman, he can come to us,” he said.
In another incident, a vegetable vendor in the Jalalpur area of the city died two days after he was allegedly hit by a policeman on his back with a baton. The locals protested by putting his body on the road, demanding action against the policeman. Mr. Kumar again said there was no evidence of involvement of a policeman in the case. “We have asked the locals to come up with any information that they have. It took some time to convince them to send the body for post -mortem.” He added that the constabulary has been instructed not to indulge in high-handedness.
Meanwhile, Aligarh registered two more COVID-19 positive cases on Wednesday.