Hyderabad: Gold Merchants Protest, Decry Police Intrusion

Hyderabad: Gold and silver merchants and jewellers at Pot Market, near Monda market in Secunderabad, staged a protest on Friday morning by closing their shutters and raising slogans against the police. The traders alleged that the cops were harassing them with needless raids on their shops.

Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav rushed to the market and assured the protesting traders that he would look into the matter and put an end to such raids.

Ever since the election code came into force on Monday, police have been carrying out special checks and various raids across locations.

Members of the jewellers association told Deccan Chronicle, “The police are spread out in the market in civil dress. They are stopping customers, traders and our workers and checking them. Dassara is the main season for us and the police interference is preventing customers from coming to this market.”

The issue flared up on Thursday evening when police entered an outlet and detained one of its workers. The association members felt that police should not enter shops as it was tarnishing their image and credibility.

Rahul Jain, one of the traders, said, “The police checking traders and workers is pushing us into difficult situations.”

Himanshu Bapna, joint secretary of Pot Market Jewellers Association, said, “Several traders are being harassed under the guise of checking. Ornaments, raw material and cash is moved from one shop to another. During those times, police are seizing some material also. What they are seizing are legally approved material. It takes around six months to get them released. Moreover, police cannot enter shops and detain workers.”  

Srinivas Yadav said that there was nothing wrong in implementing the election commission's rules but it is not appropriate to trouble traders of different communities in the name of rules.

Shops were opened Friday afternoon following Yadav’s assurances to address their grievances.