Panic among traders, industrialists

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, June 26

The murder of a grocery store owner this morning has sent chills down the spine of the traders and industrialists who said they were not feeling safe after a series of such incidents.

Previous incidents

• A month ago, a factory owner was looted at gunpoint at Suchi Pind in Jalandhar.
• Sodal Road-based kariyana store owner Sachin Jain (32) was murdered around two years ago.
• A cloth merchant from Nakodar was shot dead last year in December.

Ravinder Dhir, a trader, said the government was not doing anything to protect the traders and industrialists. Incidents of loot and murder are on the rise against them. “Anyone can come and kill someone. Is that right? How one can work in such a situation? he questioned.

Another industrialist, Gursharan Singh, said there was an environment of fear among the industrialists. “We recently met the Commissioner of Police in this regard and had discussed several points. If such incidents keep on happening, how can we work in a proper manner,” he said.

Environment of fear

There is an environment of fear among the industrialists. We recently met the Commissioner of Police in this regard and had discussed several points. If such incidents keep on happening, how can we work in a proper manner?

— Gursharan Singh, industrialist

A month ago, a factory owner was looted at gunpoint at Suchi Pind in Jalandhar. According to the owner, six people looted him and also opened fire at him. He luckily saved himself somehow.

Sodal Road-based karyana store owner Sachin Jain (32) was murdered around two years ago. The owner of Jain Karyana Store had just left for home after closing his shop when three miscreants reached outside his shop and asked him to give them money to which he resisted. The suspects fired at him and fled the spot.

The trader forum had then raised the issue of security in the district. Its members had questioned the authorities if an industrialist or a trader was safe even during daytime.

The shopkeepers of the area, under the banner of the Traders’ Forum, had also organised a sit-in near Bhagat Singh Chowk demanding justice for Sachin. They also appealed to the government to provide help to the bereaved family.

A cloth merchant from Nakodar was also shot dead last year in December.