Shops in Bhogal and Jangpura remained closed on Tuesday amid heavy security presence, a day after three men snipped off the hair and beard of an auto-rickshaw driver, and threw acid on him before setting his vehicle afire on Mathura Road.
It is alleged that the three men had set upon 60-year-old Ranjeet Singh on Monday evening as he had turned a witness in a robbery case against the attackers. For their part, the police said both Ranjeet and the attackers were co-accused in the case registered in 2011.
The attack sparked off massive outrage among the Sikhs living in the nearby areas. They gathered around the Nizamuddin police station on Monday night protesting that the action had hurt their religious sentiments. They also called for a bandh in the area on Tuesday.
As shopkeepers arrived in the market to open their shops in Bhogal and Jangpura in the morning, angry protesters made them down their shutters. They also marched in the area raising slogans against the attackers and the police.
Besides the local police and men from one of the police battalions, a company of the Rapid Action Force of the Central Reserve Police Force was also deployed.
