Zaveri Bazar protest: FIR registered against 1,000 jewellers for rioting

A formal complaint was registered at the LT Marg police against jewellers who protested at Zaveri Bazar for allegedly blocking the road for more than two hours and inconveniencing the general public.

A formal complaint was registered at the LT Marg police against jewellers who protested at Zaveri Bazar for allegedly blocking the road for more than two hours and inconveniencing the general public.

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More than 1,000 jewellers were protesting a hike in import duty and excise duty on unbranded jewellery on Monday.

Senior inspector of LT Marg police Avinash Sonawane said, “We have registered an FIR against more than 1,000 for rioting, causing damage to public property amongst other offences.” He added that while no arrests have been made as yet, they will start making arrests from Wednesday onwards.

He added that they identified several people who participated in the protest and should be able to identify the rest with the help of eyewitnesses and CCTV cameras. According to the police, the jewellers did not allow any vehicles to move for more than two hours on Monday afternoon.

“In fact, because of the crowd gathered, even those who wanted to cross the area on foot had to take alternate routes,” added an officer.

“They also deflated the tyres of a BEST bus while staging the protest and damaged a shop that did not down its shutters in protest,” added an officer, on the condition of anonymity.