CAIT alleges police 'misused' during sealing drive

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has written to Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik, alleging that the force has been "misused" at times during the ongoing sealing drive.
The CAIT has been opposing the action taken by civic authorities as part of the drive that began late December last year, at the instance of a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee.
In a communication sent to Patnaik, the CAIT has alleged that sealing in Delhi is being "conducted in utter violation of the DMC Act, 1957 and the police force is being blatantly misused for sealing of business establishments".
CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said, "Undoubtedly, as per the orders of the Supreme Court, the Delhi Police is under an obligation to provide police force at the time of sealing, if required by the concerned authority, but only for legitimate actions and not for any illegal action."

A senior civic official said, police force was brought in to ensure law and order.
The CAIT in a statement said, the recent sealing operations conducted at Amar Colony, Lajpat Nagar is one such example and where the sealing has been undertaken, by "violating the DMC Act".
Meanwhile, traders in Amar Colony continued with their protest after a sealing action on Thursday in which 350 shops in the areas market were sealed. They raised black flags and appealed family members of traders to join the stir.