Giving a call for Meerut Bandh on Thursday, the Traders community and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Meerut have rallied behind councillor Manish Panwar who was sent to jail on charges of loot and manhandling a sub-inspector in his restaurant on Saturday.

The Sanyukt Vyapaar Sangh (traders organisation), accusing the police of one-sided action, has given a call for Meerut Bandh on October 24. They have also announced that the shops in Kankerkhera area would be closed on Tuesday. The restaurant of the councillor is in Kankarkhera where the incident occurred. The trader community is demanding immediate suspension of the sub-inspector.

BJP leaders in Meerut have come out in full support of the councillor and are showing dissatisfaction over the police action. “The SI and the woman accompanying him are equally responsible for incident,” said Dr Laxmi Kant Vajpayee, former state president of the BJP, adding that this does not mean that he supports thrashing anyone, but at the same time, before initiating action against the councillor, police should have examined the video first. Vajpayee said he also spoke to the senior officials in this regard.

Naveen Gupta, President of the Vyapar Sangh said that the police action is one-sided. He has been sent to the jail while the sub-inspector was sent to the police line which is unfair. “We demand that the SI should be suspended and a case is lodged against SI and the woman as well,” he said.

The BJP Councillor of Ward 40 Manish Panwar was sent to jail by special CJM court on Saturday on charges of beating sub-inspector Sukhpal Panwar and manhandling a woman who was with him in the councillor’s restaurant Black Pepper in Kankerkhera area.

The incident was reported on Friday when reportedly there was a delay in getting the ordered food at the restaurant and an altercation started between the woman and the restaurant staff. The sub-inspector, who was dining with the woman, was slapped by the owner who is a BJP councillor.

The police later arrested him on the complaint of a woman lawyer and the SI. He was arrested while the SI was attached to the police lines and is facing a departmental probe.