Imphal, May 03 2009: SEVEN SHOPS at a small market in Imphal West were found locked with padlocks by cadres of PREPAK allegedly for not meeting their monetary demand served on the shopkeepers early Sunday.

Shopkeepers and vendors of the small but important market place at Wangoi in Imphal West observed total shut down decrying the act of threatening shopkeepers by the militant group even though police broke the padlocks and asked the shopkeepers to run their business without fear.

As the market place is one of the exit points of fish, vegetables and other produces of the Loktak lake to markets in Imphal, the closure will have some impact on availability of these items in Imphal markets.

Local reports said that seven of the shops at the market place known as Wangoi Bazar were found locked with padlocks this morning when the shopkeepers turned up for business for the day.

A piece of paper each with a strong warning from an insurgent outfit not to open the doors until their demands are met by the shopkeepers was found pasted on the doors of the shops.

Mobile phone number was also written on the piece of paper for contact with the outfit, reports said.

A team of police from Wangoi PS situated about 500 meters from the market place arrived when all the shopkeepers and vegetable vendors were gathering and discussing what to be done regarding the situation.

The police broke the padlocks and asked the shopkeepers to open and do their normal business.

While the shopkeepers expressed fear of any untoward incident for violating the diktat of the militants, police turned towards them and threatened that they will also do the same thing if the shop-keepers do not obey their order.

Caught between two powers, the shopkeepers and the vendors, with the support of the people of the surrounding areas, staged a protest demonstration at the market place by suspending all business of the day.

Secretary of the People Protection Development Committee (PPDC), a body formed by combining various local clubs of the area, Jiten said while protesting against the act of the militants, they also blamed the attitude of the police towards the shopkeepers.

"At this juncture, police should not use such hard words which amount to threaten people.

Instead they should take up steps to safeguard the life of the shopkeepers," Jiten lamented.

It is not a new thing in the state militants threatening businessmen, shopkeepers, government officials by hurling bombs, firing guns to the houses to carry out their extortion activities.

In the last two our three days, militants of different groups carried out bomb attacks to the houses of doctors and engineers which were own up by a group of KCP for not meeting their monetary demands.

In one of the attack, an engineer of the Manipur University Engineering Cell suffered injuries.

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