Nabha traders ‘detain’ cops during raid on showroom

Tension gripped a Nabha market after a group of traders and over 30 unidentified people allegedly detained a police team inside a showroom that was raided by them following complaints about the sale of counterfeit branded products.

The police have booked six traders, including the president of the Beopar Mandal, and 35 unidentified people for obstructing the raid.

The episode unfolded when employees of a company dealing in clothes and shoes, along with a team from the Nabha Kotwali police station, raided the showroom.

The police team recovered a significant quantity of counterfeit products from the premises, according to an official.

When the police team was in the process of sealing bundles of seized items, a group of shopkeepers and locals gathered at the spot and began raising slogans against the police and the Punjab Government.

In a dramatic turn of events, some protesters allegedly attempted to lock SHO Balwinder Singh and five other policemen inside the showroom. However, the police team managed to open the showroom’s shutter and came out, only to be further obstructed by the protesters outside. Following nearly two hours of chaos, the police registered two FIRs.

Following nearly two hours of chaos, the police registered two FIRs.

In the first case, an unidentified shopkeeper was booked for selling counterfeit branded goods.

In the second, six individuals, including Somnath Dhal, president of Beopar Mandal Nabha, were booked, alongside 35 others, for obstructing police officers from performing their duty.

The others named in the FIR are Dev Garments owner Narendra Garg, Vishal Sharma of Malik Sharma Milk Dairy, Subhash Sehgal, Aman Bora Wala and Bharat, a resident of Ghas Mandi.

The accused have been booked under Sections 127 (2), 132, and 221 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). No arrest has been made so far.

Punjab