JAIPUR — Ajmer witnessed widespread chaos on Saturday as enraged lawyers, protesting against the death of a senior advocate, vandalised City Square, Miraj Mall, and other markets.
The lawyers have called a bandh to protest against the death of senior advocate Purushottam Jakhetia in Pushkar who was attacked following an altercation over playing loud music.
Several lawyers gathered outside the court in the morning, where Ajmer Bar Association President Ashok Singh Rawat instructed them to ensure a “peaceful” shutdown.
The unrest escalated near Ajmer Railway Station when lawyers, angered by open shops and hotels, began hitting shop grills with sticks and throwing away goods.
While some lawyers attempted to pacify their colleagues, the situation remained tense. Markets in Pushkar and Nasirabad were also completely shut down in response to the protest.
Markets in Ajmer, Pushkar, Nasirabad, and Beawar remained closed, with exemptions granted only to medical stores, schools, and petrol pumps.
Lawyers also moved to the vegetable market on Beawar Road, where shops remained open. They forced shopkeepers to close their establishments.
The protesting lawyers stormed liquor shops on Pushkar Road and Cine World in Ajmer. In one incident, they assaulted a liquor shop operator and a youth who was consuming alcohol on the spot. A tempo passing through Ramganj Square was forcibly stopped, and passengers were made to disembark.
On March 2, a group of youths was dancing on the road, playing loud music in their car near a liquor shop near Sanskar Garden on Budha Pushkar Road.
Jakhetia, who lived nearby, confronted them and asked them to turn off the music, after which intoxicated miscreants attacked him with sticks, causing severe head injuries. Jakethia succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment.
The police have registered a case against the DJ operator and unidentified miscreants based on a report filed by Jakhetia’s nephew, Ankush.
This is the second citywide shutdown in a week. On March 1, Ajmer was closed in protest against the Bijaynagar gangrape-blackmail case. –IANS
