Locals take to streets, seek justice for Gudiya
Protesters pour out on Shimla roads; BJP workers lay siege to secretariat for nearly 2 hours
SHIMLA Unprecedented protests rocked the Himachal capital on Thursday with political parties and civil society groups joining hands to agitate against the murder and rape of a schoolgirl in Kotkhai earlier this month, followed by the custodial death of an accused on Wednesday.
Suraj Singh, one of the six suspects arrested for the gangrape and murder of the 16-year-old girl, was allegedly strangled by another suspect, Rajendra Singh, during a scuffle at the Kotkhai police station on Tuesday night.
Traffic was paralysed on most of the arterial roads between 11 am and 3 pm dueto dharnas by the agitators, and blockades put up by the police to prevent them from reaching the Himachal Pradesh secretariat.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers laid siege to the secretariat for nearly two hours in the afternoon, prompting the staff to lock all gates of the building from inside.
Before reaching the secretariat, they also protested at Victory tunnel, nearly 3 km away, at 11 am.
The party supporters clashed with the police at the HP secretariat and broke the outer gates and barricades. There were also reports of protesters hurling stones. The workers later submitted a memorandum to the governor demanding dismissal of the Virbhadra government and imposition of President’s rule in the state.
The BJP demanded that former Shimla SP DW Negi and SIT team headed by Zahur Zaidi, former inspector general (IG) southern range, be suspended.
“We have never seen the gates of the secretariat locked like this. Many protests are held here but gates have never been locked,” quipped Shambhu Singh, a shopkeeper at the Chotta Shimla market, where the secretariat is located.
Shimla Nagrik Manch and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM) started a protest near the Mall road before marching towards Raj Bhawan in Chotta Shimla. Manch members submitted a memorandum to the governor seeking dismissal of DGP
Somesh Goyal. They also called for a meeting of resident welfare associations of Shimla on Friday.
Besides BJP workers and CPIM supporters, civil society groups from nearby towns of Theog, Bhatta Kufar, Mashobra and villages surrounding Shimla carried out separate protests and marches on Mall Road and other localities. Protests were also held in Sanjauli, Khalini and other localities of the town.
Students took out processions
and blocked the PathankotShimla highway for over an hour in Dharamshala.
Kangra SDM Dharmesh Ramotra rushed to the scene and pacified the students.
Hamirpur, too, saw a massive procession by hundreds of students of local colleges and institutes. Carrying placards and banners, students submitted a memorandum to the district administration, demanding justice to the victim and her family.