Bandh observed in Ajmer over Bijaynagar ‘sexual abuse’ case

Ajmer: Marketplaces across Ajmer city remained shut, and lawyers shunned work in courts in the city Friday as part of the bandh called by Sakal Hindu Samaj (SHS) to protest the alleged sexual abuse of schoolgirls in Bijaynagar town of Beawar district, in which ten men have been arrested and three minors detained so far.The impact of the bandh was felt in every corner of the city as even tea vendors kept their shops closed. No vegetables or fruits were sold, and only hospitals, medicine shops, petrol pumps, and school buses plying for exams were allowed to operate by those enforcing the bandh. Ajmer District Bar Association and Rajasthan Revenue Board Bar Association also backed the bandh by calling for a suspension of work. Passengers stepping down at Ajmer railway station and bus stand were seen walking, their luggage in their hands.SHS members carrying sticks in their hands and wearing saffron scarves roamed the marketplaces in the city to check if the shops were closed or not. They used threats at Dargah Bazaar when they found some shops open. An auto-rickshaw driver was slapped at Nasiya Road during this process, and an angry mob deflated the wheels of an e-rickshaw, police said.In a procession called "Akrosh rally" that SHS took out from Gandhi Bhawan to the district collectorate, participants were heard shouting slogans calling for implementation of the "Yogi Model" in Rajasthan and demanding death penalty for the accused in the Bijaynagar case. They also demanded a CBI probe into the case. BJP corporators, workers of the party and members of other right-wing Hindu organisations joined the march and submitted a memorandum to the district collector addressed to the Governor, demanding strict punishment for all the accused.