Banihal shopkeepers’ stage protest block road after burglars loot 15 shops
Banihal, Jan 8, KNT: Annoyed shopkeepers Friday blocked Srinagar-Jammu highway in Banihal area Ramban district after burglars looted over a dozen shops in main market.
The incident occurred during the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.
The protesting shopkeepers told KNT that thieves broke the locks of the 15 shops and looted cash and goods.
“This is the situation in market where police and forces personnel patrol day in and day out. My shop is opposite Sub-District Hospital Banihal that is on main road and still it has been looted,” a shopkeeper Parvez Ahmed Sheikh said.
The shopkeepers as a mark of protest didn’t open their shops, blocked the roads and disrupted vehicular movement. They hold police and civil administration responsible for this major burglary incident.
“This is not the first incident of theft in Banihal but in past several shops were looted and still the culprits are untraced,” said another shopkeeper.
The protesting shopkeepers alleged that the police had failed to ensure security of the area.
When contacted a police official said that a formal case has been registered and investigation has been set into motion. He said those responsible for the theft will be identified and booked under law. (KNT)