Rajasthan Traders down shutters in Kota town to protest against firing incidents

Kota (Raj), Apr 13 (PTI) Traders in Kanwas town here shut their shops on Thursday to protest against two firing incidents in the market.
     Two bike-borne men fired in the air at two different places in the market on Wednesday afternoon.
     Station House Officer of Kanwas Police Station Kalyan Singh said the two have been identified as Shakeel and Atique, residents of Kanwas.
     Prima facie, the shots were fired to terrorise the traders as no one was targeted. The real motive will be known only after interrogation of the duo, he said.
     Holding the police responsible for the incidents, the traders, led by former local BJP MLA Heeralal Nagar, said the market would remain shut till the accused are not arrested.
     Police have assured the traders that the culprits would be nabbed by Friday.
     An FIR has been lodged against the duo following a complaint by traders, Koshal Soni, Madhusudan, and Himanshu, police said.
     Soni is a local BJP leader and former panchayat samiti member.
     Police personnel in large numbers have been deployed in the town to maintain law and order and prevent any untoward incident, officials said.
     The traders accompanied by activists of Hindu organisations also submitted a memorandum to the SDM demanding the immediate arrest of the accused.
     According to police, Shakeel and Atique have a criminal background.
     Atique has three cases, including attempt to murder and Arms Act, lodged against him, Deputy Superintendent of Police Rameshwar Parihar said.
     Several police teams are engaged to trace the accused, they said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)