Congress stages protests against rising fuel prices in Jammu

Several hundred Congress activists were detained here on Monday as the party staged protests across the region as part of a 'Bharat Bandh' call given by it against rising prices of petrol and diesel, officials said.

The party's call to business community and transporters to join the nationwide strike, however, failed to evoke much response as majority of shops and business establishments remained open and public and private transport operations were normal.

The protests led by senior party leaders were staged at dozens of places in Jammu city and elsewhere, disrupting the movement of traffic and prompting people to close their shops for a brief period in some places.

"A large number of Congress activists were briefly detained as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order," Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Jammu Vivek Gupta told PTI.

A Congress spokesman said senior leaders, including Shakeel Ahmad Khan and Raman Bhalla, were among 300 activists taken into custody by police after they tried to march towards the city centre from Satwari Chowk along the Jammu airport road.

Congress activists also staged rallies at various parts in the city. Reports of protests by Congress activists and supporters were also received from other district headquarters of the region, including Samba and Poonch, where the protesters burnt tyres on the Jammu-Pathankot and Jammu-Poonch highways, briefly disrupting traffic on the vital roads, officials said.

The SSP said there was no report of any bandh-related violence and the protests passed off peacefully.