Nala Road rampage: Traders demand arrest of culprits

Patna: A day after students went on the rampage, vandalising shops and firing shots in the air on the Nala Road, shopkeepers and local residents staged a protest on Wednesday, demanding the arrest of the perpetrators.The incident occurred on Tuesday night, when a group of students hostel allegedly vandalised shops and harassed locals on the Nala Road. The students were reportedly angry over not being given "chanda" by the shopkeepers for the Saraswati Puja celebrations.Kumhrar MLA, Arun Kumar Sinha, present at the scene with the businessmen, expressed dismay over such incidents. "Despite being a legislator for 30 years, this is the first such incident I have witnessed. I submitted a memorandum in this regard to the district administration, but no action has been taken yet," Sinha said.He further mentioned that if discussions with the DM and officials concerned do not yield results, he would take the issue with the CM Nitish Kumar. "We are demanding the arrest of culprits," the MLA added.Magistrate M S Khan, from the DM control room, continued to persuade shopkeepers on Wednesday to end the blockade, but the shopkeepers remained firm on their demands for arrests and changing the route for idol immersion.Purnanand, a shopkeeper of Nala Road, said that on Tuesday night, the students caused a disturbance and fired shots alleging they were not given "chanda" for the puja. "All this happened right under the nose of the Rapid Action Force on Tuesday. They even fired shots near a furniture shop and misbehaved with women," he added.Traders said that approximately Rs 80,000 was given as "chanda" by the shopkeepers, but despite this, the students issued threats over the microphone. They even vent viral on social media issuing threats, they alleged. SHO, Kadamkuan, Rajiv Kumar, said: "An FIR has been registered against the president of the Saidpur puja committee, its members, and several other unidentified people. We are investigating the matter. Action will be taken against the culprits after supervision of the case." Patna: A day after students went on the rampage, vandalising shops and firing shots in the air on the Nala Road, shopkeepers and local residents staged a protest on Wednesday, demanding the arrest of the perpetrators.The incident occurred on Tuesday night, when a group of students hostel allegedly vandalised shops and harassed locals on the Nala Road. The students were reportedly angry over not being given "chanda" by the shopkeepers for the Saraswati Puja celebrations.Kumhrar MLA, Arun Kumar Sinha, present at the scene with the businessmen, expressed dismay over such incidents. "Despite being a legislator for 30 years, this is the first such incident I have witnessed. I submitted a memorandum in this regard to the district administration, but no action has been taken yet," Sinha said.He further mentioned that if discussions with the DM and officials concerned do not yield results, he would take the issue with the CM Nitish Kumar. "We are demanding the arrest of culprits," the MLA added.Magistrate M S Khan, from the DM control room, continued to persuade shopkeepers on Wednesday to end the blockade, but the shopkeepers remained firm on their demands for arrests and changing the route for idol immersion.Purnanand, a shopkeeper of Nala Road, said that on Tuesday night, the students caused a disturbance and fired shots alleging they were not given "chanda" for the puja. "All this happened right under the nose of the Rapid Action Force on Tuesday. They even fired shots near a furniture shop and misbehaved with women," he added.Traders said that approximately Rs 80,000 was given as "chanda" by the shopkeepers, but despite this, the students issued threats over the microphone. They even vent viral on social media issuing threats, they alleged. SHO, Kadamkuan, Rajiv Kumar, said: "An FIR has been registered against the president of the Saidpur puja committee, its members, and several other unidentified people. We are investigating the matter. Action will be taken against the culprits after supervision of the case."