A near-complete shutdown was observed in western UP district in response to a bandh call given by the BJP to protest against the arrest of its legislators in connection with the riots. According to reports, all commercial establishments remained closed in Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Shamli, Baghpat, Bijnore, Saharanpur, Amroha and other adjoining districts. The response to the bandh was partial in Ghaziabad and Noida.
The bandh call was given after the arrest of two BJP legislators, Suresh Rana and Sangeet Som.
The state government, meanwhile, had asked the people not to succumb to any pressure from any party and keep their establishments open. The government has asked the people to inform officials if anybody tried to force closure of their establishments. The BJP claimed that the shutdown was “historic” and had immense public support. BJP spokesman Manoj Misra said that the response to the bandh call proved that the common man had disapproved of the one-sided action taken by the SP government.