Traders in the bordering town of Krishnanagar shut markets and halted transport on Monday, protesting what they said was harassment by the Armed Police Force.

Ritesh Sharma, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Krishnanagar chapter, said police officers were causing unnecessary hardship to locals, farmers, and small traders by seizing goods and forcing them to pay customs duties.

The market is completely shut. No private or public vehicles are plying.

Sharma said police recently seized fertiliser, wedding supplies, and other items under the pretext of security checks.

Jagadish Chaudhary, head of the Janata Samajbadi Party’s Krishnanagar unit, backed the strike and called for an end to the alleged mistreatment.

Superintendent Netra KC of the Armed Police Force’s Battalion Number 28 said officers had seized 32 sacks of urea fertiliser in Bahadurganj on May 23, suspecting smuggling. Locals had thrown the fertiliser onto the road after it was offloaded from a police vehicle, he said.