Deolali bandh to protest attack on police station

Deolali Camp: Members of various political parties and citizens observed a token bandh in the Deolali Camp area on Friday in protest against Wednesday's attack on the Upanagar police station allegedly by over 150 army personnel.
On Thursday, 18 accused army personnel were arrested but were later granted bail by a local court.
The Deolali Camp area is surrounded by units of various wings of the armed forces.
The area, which was bustling with activity since the last one month on account of elections to the Cantonment Board and Deolali festival, woke up to a quiet morning with traders keeping their shutters down.
The traders said the bandh was observed to support the police and draw the attention of the departments concerned to not let incidents like this take place again.
The bandh was observed till noon after which the traders started opening their shops. The traders also presented a memorandum protesting the act of the army personnel to the Deolali Camp police. Leaders of different political parties including newly-elected corporators Baburao Mojad, Dinkar Adhav, Babu Kataria and Chandrakant Godse, office-bearers of the Republican Party of India Vishwanath Kale and R D Jadhav, and Kiran Bhalerao of the Deolali Rickshaw Taxi Union supported the bandh.
Suresh Kusalkar, president of Deolali Merchants' Welfare Association, said, "The token bandh was observed to ensure that peace prevailed in the area. In future, no one should take undue advantage of the situation and indulge in some mischief that would disrupt peace in the town surrounded by various army units."
The traders said the economy of Deolali is dependent on the presence of army area. Hence, we are in as much need of the armed forces as the army personnel, who depend on the market for their daily needs, they said.
The traders said the bandh was also to show support to the police " because of whom citizens can walk without any fear on the streets". At the same time, the armed forces were also necessary to safeguard the nation from attacks by foreign countries, they added.
The traders said senior army officials should control the energy and enthusiasm of the recruits and not let it waste on such petty issues.
Shinu Jose of the Guru Social Foundation said, "The protest against the act of army personnel was necessary considering their attitude which is being felt in Deolali Camp every other day."
"Three years ago, a restaurant on Lam Road was ransacked by armymen over a petty issue. Last year, one more shop was vandalized in the Shani Mandir area. No one dares to go against them. It appears as if the senior officers of the armed forces give their men a 20-30 minute break to wreak havoc in the civil area," said a resident of the area on the condition of anonymity.
"There have been numerous occasions when army personnel driving vehicles have knocked down people and escaped. If people try to follow them, the personnel at the army gates warn them of dire consequences. However, if a citizen, including girls and women are at fault, the armymen ensure that the person concerned gets a lesson by physical and verbal abuse," he added.
Citizens said such incidents were witnessed regularly in the area, but no one raised their voice. They said Wednesday's incident was an eye-opener to the society at large.
Meanwhile, the Deolali Camp police said five officers and 30 constables were posted in different parts of the town to ensure that no untoward incident occurred during the bandh.