Demonetisation:Cops on their toes as queues grow thick

Police had a hard time managing long, winding queues outside banks and ATMs where people gathered to get cash after a week since the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.

There were reports of police having to resort to “minor lathicharge” on people waiting outside the Reserve Bank of India here.

However, police and eyewitnesses said there was no lathicharge and the forces had to “threaten the unruly crowd with lathis”.

“The situation was peaceful and there was no lathicharge.

“Our cops posted in the area just requested people to stand in the queue. They didn’t have to use force. Their job is to ensure that there is a proper queue outside the bank but they cannot use force,” said a senior police officer.

Another officer said: “There was no lathicharge. The bank was closing down and people weren’t going away. We informed them that there won’t be any transaction happening since the bank was closing for the day and we requested them to leave from there.”