The echoes of the attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama on Thursday reverberated throughout Mumbai on Friday, with various groups holding protests.
Shopkeepers on Mohammed Ali Road — from Bhendi Bazaar to Null Bazaar — downed their shutters in response to a bandh call. Umar Khan, a 70 year-old electro-plating shop owner near Phul Gali Masjid said, “We condemn this evil act of terrorism that killed our brave jawans. We have voluntarily ceased our daily operations to show our respect to the victims. We request the government to take the strictest possible action against the terrorists.”
Burning an effigy of Pakistan’s flag at Sunni Bilal Masjid, Mohammed Saeed Noori, general secretary of Raza Academy, said, “We appeal to the United Nations Organisation to tag Pakistan as a ‘terrorist’ nation and hang Hafiz Saeed and Azhar Masood. Another surgical strike is needed without delay.”
Apart from the bandh, the protest included prayers for the safety of soldiers at the borders and a two-minute silence in the memory of the martyrs.
The Pydhonie and the JJ Marg police deployed teams across the area to ensure that the protests went off peacefully and without any disruption to the flow of vehicular traffic.
A condolence gathering was held at Hutatma Smarak by a group of secular organisations led by the Bharat Bachao Andolan, where people stood silently with placards reading ‘Unite To End Terrorism Now’.
Feroze Mithiborwala of the Bharat Bachao Andolan said, “It’s high time for a firm political dialogue to solve Kashmir issue once and for all. We will raise relevant questions to the government regarding the intelligence failures behind this unfortunate incident.”
Protests were also held in Kamathipura and Nagpada, where members of NGOs gathered in protest. In Lalbaug, Shiv Sena activists burned Pakistan flags and posters of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
