Thursday, September 21 2006 16:05 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Municipal Corporation of Delhi has suspended its sealing and demolition drive for a day today (Sept 21,2006) in the wake of violent protests across the capital during a traders' bandh against the closure of their establishments.

The civic body took the decision after a meeting of MCD Commissioner A K Nigam and senior police officials today.

"The decision to suspend the sealing drive for a day was taken after police advised us not to go ahead with it due to yesterday's violence," MCD spokesman Deep Mathur told sources.

Mathur said senior officials of the civic body will review the situation this evening and will take a decision on whether to to continue the suspension of the drive.

Three persons were killed, two of them in police firing, and scores of people, including security personnel, injured as the traders' bandh against MCD's sealing drive turned violent in many parts of the capital yesterday.

The worst-hit region was Seelampur in North-East Delhi where a seven-year-old boy, a teenager returning from school and a man were killed and about 50 policemen, including the area Deputy Commissioner of Police Devesh Shrivastava, were injured.