Bhubaneswar, March 1: Forum Mart, one of the important hangouts for the young and the restless of the city, remained closed for the second consecutive day today after the mall employees had allegedly manhandled some students of Utkal University last evening.
The mall situated at Kharavela Nagar was shut down today apprehending further trouble.
Police have deployed adequate personnel outside the mall. A number of youngsters, especially students of several engineering and management students, are forced to return due to the shutdown.
"We get only one day for shopping in a week as our institute is situated on the outskirts of the city. But when we reached the mall, we were told that it had been closed for tomorrow. As a result, we were forced to spend most of the time at the Unit-II market though it was a hot day," said Manoj Sahu, an engineering student.
The Unit-II daily market remained busy throughout the day. "Though it is better to visit the centrally air-conditioned mall, the shutdown forced us to visit the Unit-II market in the hot afternoon," said Monika Das, another engineering student.
Tension prevailed at the mall yesterday after a few staff members of the mall had allegedly assaulted the students of the university. The students visited to the mall after an Odia postgraduate student, who was also working as part time with the food court at the mall, had been thrown out of his job.
"When we reached the mall to have a discussion on the matter, the mall employees misbehaved with us, and when we protested, they assaulted us with the help of bouncers," alleged Pabitra Sahu, a university student.
Deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi said they had arrested nine people in this connection. "Adequate police personnel have been deployed at the spot to prevent any untoward situations," said Bhoi. The university students also demanded arrest of other staff members involved in the brawl. "Around 15 persons assaulted us, and so far, the police have arrested only nine of them. We demand immediate arrest of the others," said a student.
