Token shutdown in Deolali against objectionable posts

NASHIK: Traders in the Deolali area kept their shutters down for two hours on Tuesday morning following an appeal by the Republican Party of India (RPI) in protest against the objectionable comments posted on a social networking site recently.
Later in the day, a delegation of the party submitted a memorandum to the Deolali Camp police to express their views on the posts.The Deolali Camp police said adequate security was in place and no untoward incident was reported. The traders opened their shops around 11 am.
Rajesh Pawar, the president of the RPT's Deolali Camp unit, said, "It was a token protest programme. About 50 party activists moved around the market area, appealing to the traders to shut the shops. The response of the traders in particular and public in general was enthusiastic. The shops were opened after the memorandum was submitted to the Deolali Camp police."
He said, "We will not tolerate any insult to our leaders. We called the bandh to air our views and not to cause any hardship to the general public. This is the reason we asked the traders to open resume their business as usual after 11 am."
The police said security arrangements had been beefed up for the past three to four days - ever since the situation became tense across the state because of the objectionable posts. Senior officers said apart from the bandobast at the police-station level, teams of striking force comprising 20 persosnnel each and a police van were deployed in sensitive areas like Motha Rajwada, Deolali Gaon and Bhimnagar along Jail Road.