Ajmer bandh on March 1 over Bijaynagar ‘sex abuse’ case

Ajmer: Sakal Hindu Samaj (SHS), an umbrella organisation working for the rights of Hindus, on Wednesday called for a bandh in Ajmer city to be observed on March 1 to protest the alleged incidents of sexual abuse of minor girls in Bijaynagar town of Beawar district, in which eight men have been arrested and three minors detained.A meeting called by SHS on Tuesday night was attended by representatives of various market associations of the city, and the latter agreed to extend support to the bandh call by keeping every marketplace in Ajmer closed on March 1. Petrol pumps, medical facilities, and schools and colleges where exams are going on are exempt from the bandh, said Sunil Jain, the Ajmer district secretary of SHS, who is also the Ajmer district president of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).Bandhs were organised last week over the Bijaynagar case in parts of Bhilwara, Beawar and Ajmer districts on the calls by Hindu organisations. Marketplaces in towns such as Kekri, Masuda, Pisanghan, Nasirabad and Bagera remained closed during those bandhs."Members of almost every market association have come out in support of the bandh call against the Bijaynagar sexual abuse incidents. There is anger among people against such conspiracies. Even city buses will not run; vending of vegetables and fruits will not take place, and tea stalls will remain closed that day," said Jain, adding that even Dargah Bazaar Association, where traders are mainly Muslims, has come forward to support the bandh call "to send a strong message against such incidents".Of the eight adults arrested so far, four were sent back to jail after their second police remand concluded on Tuesday, and the rest four are undergoing their second police remand now. The three minor boys detained are currently lodged in a correctional centre. Hakem Qureshi, a former councillor of Bijaynagar, was arrested Sunday as the eighth accused after his name emerged as a conspirator in the case, said police.
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