Police initiate preventive action after shopkeepers' altercation in Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) Delhi Police have registered a complaint and initiated preventive action after a video showing a heated verbal altercation between two neighbouring shopkeepers surfaced online, an official said on Saturday.

The video, widely circulated online, shows a butcher entering an electrical shop and confronting its owner over a past incident in Delhi's Prem Nagar area.

During the exchange, the electrical shop owner is heard referring to an earlier occasion when he allegedly saw the butcher cutting an animal in public view and had asked him to move the activity further inside his shop.

The shop owner claims in the video that he made the request politely, but alleged that the butcher responded rudely and verbally abused him. He is also heard saying that he later recorded the incident and posted it online after the alleged altercation.

In response, the butcher is heard asking, “Are you trying to close my shop?”, to which the electrical shop owner replies that he had no such intention and reiterates that his request was made politely.

The video captures a heated exchange of words between the two shopkeepers as the electrical shop owner continues recording the interaction. Customers present inside the electrical shop are also seen witnessing the argument.

During the altercation, the butcher is heard issuing a threat towards the shop owner.

Police said a complaint was registered on January 9 at Prem Nagar police station on the complaint of the electrical shop owner.

“Requisite legal action under provisions of the Delhi Police Act has been initiated, along with preventive proceedings under sections of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), to pre-empt any breach of peace,” a senior police officer said.

To maintain communal harmony, police convened a joint meeting of community representatives from both sides and sensitised them to uphold peace and mutual coexistence, he said.

The area has been placed under enhanced police vigilance, with beat staff directed to maintain close supervision and ensure swift intervention in case of any law-and-order situation, police added. PTI SSJ SMV HIG HIG