Delhi protest toll rises to four

Troops are out in force in Seelampur

The number of people killed in protests in India's capital, Delhi, on Wednesday over moves to close illegal businesses has risen to four, police say.

Dozens were also hurt as police fired tear gas and charged stone-throwing crowds in the Seelampur area.

Hundreds of paramilitary troops and police have been deployed in the area.

Courts have ordered firms operating illegally in residential areas to shut. Traders say the drive will affect the livelihoods of at least 500,000 people.

Shops closed

The Seelampur area in Delhi's north-east remained tense on Thursday, with anger palpable a day after the worst violence the city has seen over the closure programme.

Clashes turned violent on Wednesday

Two people died in Seelampur on Wednesday, with two more subsequently succumbing to their injuries, police have told the BBC.

The lower-middle class area is dotted with hundreds of small shops. But all shops and business establishments were closed and traffic on the roads thin.

Groups of people were standing around in clusters and signs of Wednesday's protests were all around.

An entire road divider was broken bit by bit by the demonstrators who used chunks of it to pelt the police.

Young men in the area say they will continue with their protests to draw attention to their problems.

"No one looks after us," is the common refrain.

Similar sentiments are being expressed a few miles away in south Delhi's posh South Extension area, too, where some 30 traders and shopkeepers are on indefinite hunger strike.

Although most shops in the area were open, the mood was sombre.

Appeal

The municipal authorities began sealing shops in residential areas last year after the Supreme Court ordered a ban on illegal businesses to be enforced.

Shopkeepers are on strike in the South Extension area

Protests across Delhi have since become widespread.

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appealed to the Supreme Court to review its ruling.

The governing Congress party says it is trying to find a solution for those affected.

Traders say municipal authorities often take money from the poor and the middle-class in return for turning a blind eye to illegal constructions or encroachments on public land.

Some of the city's most talked about fashion designers brazenly open ritzy boutiques in illegal buildings and then feign ignorance.

At least a couple of such prestigious fashion malls were demolished earlier this year because they were operating illegally.