U'khand: Shops run by outsiders remain shut for 5th day in Purola after protests over elopement bid of minor girl

Shops in Purola town here run by traders from outside remained shut for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday following protests over an alleged attempt by two men, including one from the minority community, to elope with a minor local girl.

Though the situation is in control now, 16 shops owned by traders from outside the town are still closed, Purola Station House Officer Khajan Singh Chauhan said.

Their owners had shut the shops following a protest by locals over the aborted elopement bid by the two men who were caught at a petrol pump on Friday last while trying to take the girl in an autorickshaw to Dehradun.

Local businessmen kept the market closed for two days in protest and stripped traders from outside the town of their membership of the local Vyapar Mandal.

They also protested outside the police post in Purola demanding immediate action against the accused.

The girl was rescued and the duo sent to jail after a case was registered against them under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, police said.

The accused ran shops of motorcycle repairing and making quilts and cushions.

A verification drive has also been launched by the police to examine the antecedents of traders from outside the town.

Verification of 55 such traders has been done, the SHO said.

SDM, Purola, Devanand Sharma, who held a meeting with local traders on Tuesday to appeal to them to restore peace, said the situation was in control.

However, Purola SHO Chauhan said 16 shops that belong to traders from outside are still shut.

He also refuted reports carried in a section of the press about 41 families leaving the town overnight following the protests by locals against the incident on Saturday.

''Such reports are unfounded. No one has left the town,'' Chauhan said.

Sharma said social amity and peace are paramount, cautioning against publishing misleading news regarding the incident.