Uttar Pradesh: Ballia bandh in protest against arrest of three scribes evokes good response

VARANASI: The bandh call given by Sanyukta Patrakar Sangarsh Morcha evoked a good response in the Ballia district as most of the markets remained closed in the city area on Saturday.
Except for incidents of exchange of heated arguments between the protesters and police, the agitation remained peaceful. The SPSM, which gave the bandh call in protest against the arrest of three journalists, who claimed to have exposed the leak of the UP Board intermediate exam paper that led to cancellation of this exam in 24 districts on March 30, enjoyed support of the unions of traders, lawyers, teachers and students.
The traders, lawyers and members of other unions started coming on roads by 12 noon and appealed to those shop owners, who had kept their shops open partially to extend support to their agitation.When the cops tried to stop them, heated arguments were evident at a few places in the limits of Kotwali police station area.
The president of Purvanchal Udyog Vyapar Mandal Manjay Singh and joint secretary of federation of All India Vyapar Mandal Rajnikant said that their unions had unanimously decided to extend support to the bandh call of SPSM as Ballia people are shocked to see that officials of district administration and police sent those journalists behind the bar, who exposed the UP Board exam paper leak. They said that most of the shop owners had kept their shops closed and few, who opened their shops, also pulled down the shutters when they appealed to extend support to the agitation.
Following the leak of the UP Board intermediate English examination and its cancellation in 24 districts on March 30, three FIRs were lodged under sections of IPC, UP Public Examinations (Prevention of unfair means) and IT Acts with Kotwali, Nagra and Sikandarpur police station. Apart from the district inspector of school and other accused persons, police also arrested three journalists, Ajit Ojha, Digvijay Singh and Manoj Kumar Gupta. Their bail plea was also rejected from lower court on April 13.
In protest against the journalists' arrest, the SPSM was formed which started indefinite sit-in at district headquarters on March 30 demanding suspension of the DM and SP for taking action against those who exposed the paper leak incident, withdrawal of cases from journalists and proper investigation in making of UP Board examination centres at unaided institutions as it would expose a major scam. The stir was converted into a token hunger strike from April 11.