IMPHAL, July 20 � A 48-hour bandh in the border town Moreh which began today has severely affected normal life and bussiness in the international border town of Manipur.
The bandh has been jointly called by Moreh Chamber of Commerce and Tamil Sangam in protest agaisnt the arrest of its president.
Businessman V Shekhar, who is also the president of Moreh Chamber of Commerce as also the president of the Tamil Sangam, was arrested by Chattisgarh police from Chennai airport on July 14 in connection with the murder of his long-time business associate Rajesh Dagar sometime back. He has also been charged with smuggling drugs from across the international border into India via Moreh.
However, the two influential bodies today said that the charges leveled against their president are false and motivated. The civil bodies said that they will go on a sit-in tomorrow in Moreh in protest against the allegations and in demand for his unconditional release.
A local paper here reported on July 17 that Chattisgarh police have brought the international cocaine smuggler for trial in Raipur after his arrest on July 14 from Chennai airport. The police have also claimed to have recovered American dollars from the possession of Shekhar. Shekhar is likely to be presented before the court in Raipur on Friday.
The police are keeping track of his property in Manipur and Chennai and making a comprehensive inventory. They maintained that Shekhar might be able to provide valuable inputs on the whereabouts of Satyendra who is wanted in Rajesh Dagar murder case.
According to a report Satyendra is the younger brother of Rajesh Dagar. Satyendra and Shekhar reportedly hired a hit-man to murder Rajesh Dagar who left Shekhar and his associate to start his own gang.
