CR Park fish sellers say mkt predates temple; police begin probe into video

On Tuesday, a video surfaced on social media platform X, in which two men, clad in saffron kurtas, allegedly questioned and threatened fish and meat sellers. Police said the video is “dated”. HT could not verify the authenticity of the video

In Chittaranjan Park’s Market No. 1, fish and meat shops opened for business per usual on Wednesday amid police deployment, a day after a video of two unidentified men purportedly threatening the sellers for conducting business near a temple surfaced.

At Market No. 1, CR Park, on Wednesday. (Vipin Kumar//HT)

HT spoke to some sellers who claimed that the two men got into a verbal fight with a few of them around 15 days ago. They also claimed that the market predates the Kali temple, and the shopkeepers were among the ones who contributed funds for the religious structure.

Market No. 1 in CR Park was developed by the Delhi Development Authority and is regulated by the municipal corporation.

“My father opened this shop in 1984 and since then, we have had no problem in running our shops. But these two men started claiming that we are hurting sentiments by selling fish next to a temple, which is not true — fish is an integral of the Bengali culture,” said Dibyendu Das, a fish shop owner.

The sellers also alleged that the men also told them to relocate their shops. “These men said that if you don’t shift your shops from here, we will call 100 people and do a Hanuman Chalisa Paath in front of the market,” said another fish shop owner, Joy Deep Das.

He added that they have the necessary certification from all authorities and have never faced such an issue before.

Sanjeev Bhattacharya, priest of the Kali temple, too expressed shock over the threats.

Ashok Bose, vice president of East Bengal Displaced Person (EBDP) association, the apex body of CR Park RWAs, said that few people who do not live in the area came to the fish market and threatened the shopkeepers.”Residents have complained on our WhatsApp groups and have collectively stated that this type of behaviour is unacceptable,” Bose said.

On Tuesday, a video surfaced on social media platform X, in which two men, clad in saffron kurtas, allegedly questioned and threatened fish and meat sellers. Police said the video is “dated”. HT could not verify the authenticity of the video.

Since Tuesday night, the Delhi Police has deployed personnel near the market. At least three-four police personnel, in plain clothes, were seen deployed on Wednesday.

“We are in the process of identifying the accused. The matter is under investigation” said a senior police officer. However, an FIR is yet to be lodged as police are yet to receive a complaint, DCP (south) Ankit Chauhan said.

Meanwhile, the issue sparked a political slugfest, with TMC MP Mahua Moitra and the Opposition AAP alleging that the unidentified men were linked to the saffron party. The BJP refuted the allegation, and sought arrest of the two men.