Hundreds of members of the Bishnoi community blocked the SV Road in Malad on Thursday morning in order to protest Wednesday’s double murder, bringing with them the dead bodies of the two victims.
Commissioner of police Arup Patnaik, who reached the spot to pacify the protesters, did not pass up on the opportunity to snipe at his subordinates on the occasion.
The mob of nearly 300 men gathered at the New Era Theatre at around 12 pm, and marched to the junction on the SV Road leading to the Malad police station. They set down the bodies of victims Hemant Bishnoi and Paras Parmar right in the middle of the busy junction, and started shouting slogans. Officials of the Malad police station quickly surrounded the crowd, and additional reinforcements were dispatched.
Meanwhile, additional commissioner Ramrao Pawar, joint commissioner of police (crime) Himanshu Roy and Mr Patnaik hastened to the spot.
Mr Patnaik assured the protesters that everything was being done to ensure speedy detection of the case and added, “There are some officers who talk more. I, on the other hand, work more.”
Meanwhile, the police now suspects that a gang targeting only jewellers is active in the western and northern suburbs. “The gang seems to choose jewellers transporting valuables, and strikes when they are near a railway station, and flees in an autorickshaw,” said Mahesh Patil, deputy commissioner of police, zone 11.