Gopalganj traders call off strike

Alok Mishra

Gopalganj: The indefinite strike by the traders ended on January 13 after assurance by Gopalganj DM Rahul Kumar and SP Ravi Ranjan Kumar. The shopkeepers had kept their shutters down for the past three days to protest alleged police atrocities on innocent people of the district.

A delegation of the traders met the DM and SP and submitted memorandum to them on January 13. Both the officials assured the delegation that no action would be taken against innocent people by the administration. If found innocent during investigation, the arrested persons would be released, said both the officials. They also assured the delegation that nobody would be arrested till the filing of the chargesheet.

Through the memorandum, India Red Cross Society secretary Jyoti Prakash Barnwal, Arun Kumar Gupta of Vyavasai Ekta Manch, ward councilor Jaihind Prasad and Rajan Kumar Gupta urged the DM to accelerate the pace of investigation into cases lodged during Dussehra and Muharram in 2016 and release the arrested persons if they are innocent. According to the leading traders,they suffered a loss of Rs. 8.65 crore during the three- day strike.As the shops opened, the entire town came on roads for marketing for Makar Sankranti.