With about 10 cases of theft being reported in the past one month from the GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (GBPUAT) colony here, protesters led by local Congress
leaders gheraoed the police station. The protesters accused the police of remaining a mute spectator despite the series of theft cases reported. According to the locals, there has been an alarming rise in the frequency of incidents of thefts being carried out in the area with the police and local administration allegedly remaining inactive. Accusing the police of collusion in incidence of thefts, a group of locals led by the Congress district head Narayan Singh Bisht gheraoed the Pantnagar police station in protest. The protesting locals alleged that there had been about 10 reported incidences of thefts in the area during the past one month but the police had not yet been able to solve a single of the theft cases. “Far from lodging FIR when informed about such thefts, the police personnel do not even receive the complaint about theft being reported by members of the public. The police simply take the complaint and assure that action will be taken, which has intensified the level of public discontent in the area,” said the protesters.
The police is working in collusion seeking extortion from dubious elements involved in the illegal mining activities in the region, alleged the protesters.
The locals participating in the protest demonstration said that if the cases in question are not solved in the period of one week, they will gherao the district
senior superintendent of police demanding that the entire staff of the police station be replaced. Responding to the demand of the protesting locals, the police officer present at the site assured that some of the theft cases will be solved in the coming five days.