On Jan 23, the leather traders from Thakkar Bappa Colony kept their shops closed to protest the rise in robbery cases in the area.

The Jan 23 bandh was triggered by a theft that took place on Jan 22, where robbers walked away with Rs 6.5 lakh cash from a Shell Colony flat after threatening the residents with guns.

Says Savarchand Naval, The robbery occurred at the residence of my brother Ghanshyam Das Naval. At the time of the robbery, my sister-in-law and nephews were at home. The robbers flashed the gun and walked away with cash.

Meanwhile, the cops have arrested two people in connection with the robbery.

The Nehru Nagar police have arrested two people in connection with the Shell Colony robbery. Says senior inspector Bondhe from Nehru Nagar police station, We have arrested two people. However, I cannot reveal their names. All I can say is that both the accused were out on bail in connection with another crime.

Bondhe denies the allegations made by residents and shopkeepers of the area about the police being unable to control the crime rate in the area. A few months ago we detected a case of major theft. We have a police chowky on Thakkar Bappa Road and our officers patrol the area round-the-clock, he says.

Responding to the bandh called by the traders, he says, It is within their rights to call for a bandh. However, such protests do not serve any purpose, especially when we are trying to crack the case.

But the leather merchants and wholesale dealers, who are being robbed at consistent intervals, say that they have been forced to call for a bandh because the cops have failed to control the crime rate in the area.

Savarchand Naval, a shopkeeper and the brother of Ghanshyam Das Naval, whose shop was robbed, says the Jan 22 robbery was the sixth case of robbery in the area in the last six months. He also adds that there have been many cases of attempted robberies in the last few days.

A few days ago, 10 to 15 robbers entered the residence of my elder brother. They posed as crime branch officials and searched his house, says Naval.

A fortnight ago Ratan Traders, a leather goods shop on Thakkar Bappa Road, was robbed. The robbers ran away with cash worth Rs 2.5 lakh from the shop. Apart from this, there have been several incidents of theft in the area. Many of these cases go unreported because people dont want to waste time on procedural delay, says Raja Ram of Ratan Traders.

Purshottam Bora, secretary of Thakker Bappa Footwear Material Merchants Welfare Association, says, We wanted to protest the rise in crime against the members of the our community. So we decided to keep our establishments shut and stage a morcha.

Bora was robbed of Rs 1.90 lakh at gun-point six months ago. The traders of the area do not feel safe anymore. They fear that criminals have singled them out.

The traders are planning to stage a morcha outside the Mantralaya if the robbers involved in the Jan 22 theft are not booked within a week. The police have always tried to shift the onus on us by asking us to identify suspects. The police are not serious about petty crimes. This can encourage robbers.

manthan@mid-day.com