Gold, silver merchants allege police harassment, shut down shops in Secunderabad

Hyderabad: Hundreds of gold and silver merchants in Secunderabad staged a protest on Friday morning citing police harassment. The merchant community said that, in the name of upholding the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), the police administration has been harassing the merchants by constantly conducting inspections of the shops, which are scaring the customers away.

The merchants protested by shouting slogans such as “Bepari ekta zindabad!” and called for unity among the merchants against police interference. Minister for Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Cinematography T Srinivas Yadav visited the spot to pacify the merchant community. The gold and the silver shops were shut down in the Pot Market area of Secunderabad on Friday.

While shops in the Pot Market area went through police scrutiny a day ago, the jewellery shops in General Bazar were targeted on Friday. According to the gems and jewellery merchants’ association, there are around 700 shops in the area. Several small and big jewellery shops are situated near RP Road and General Bazar in Secunderabad, including Monda Market, Kalsiguda, MG Road, Patny Centre Siddiamber Bazar Road, Market Street etc.

When asked about the reasons for the protest, the president of Telangana Bullion Gems and Jewellers Federation, Jagadish Prasad Varma, said, “We are planning to give a representation to the home minister regarding the unnecessary police raids on many shops including gold polishing, welding and repair shops, which are scaring away the customers.”

“We are not averse to their checks. Let the police check on the roads and catch huge hauls of money or other valuable items. But they should not keep coming to our shops without any reason and interfere with our business. And why are they only targeting jewellery shops? Why not go to the cloth or other markets where sales worth lakhs of rupees take place every day?” he added.

Most transactions at gold shops run into lakhs

“The festival season is almost here and after that we have the marriage season coming up. If the police act in this manner till the election results come out, which is almost two months away, then we will not get any customers and our business will suffer. It is already suffering because the police are catching and questioning people who are coming to polish or repair their necklaces, which are worth only a few lakhs of rupees. Most transactions in gold and silver shops run into lakhs of rupees especially jewellery purchased for marriage. No customer will take the risk of coming to the shops and face such hassles. This harassment must stop and let the police do their work on the roads and spare our daily business,” added Jagadish Prasad.

Santosh Kirti, an employee of a jewellery shop at General Bazar, said, “Ever since the election code came into effect, police raids have randomly started in jewellery shops in various areas. Customers are also being harassed due to these checks. Today, the shops in the Pot Market area were closed in protest. Minister T Srinivas Yadav met with us and supported the merchants. Business will be affected big time if such unnecessary checks continue.”

The police have intensified surprise checks after the MCC came into force as soon as the Telangana Assembly election schedule was announced on October 9. The law enforcement agencies have seized cash, gold and silver worth crores of rupees from various parts of the city and state in the last four days.