Batala, Oct. 14 -- Three days after a double murder in the bustling Batala market on October 10, the town observed a near-total shutdown on Saturday as trader organisations and Hindu right-wing outfits protested the killings and police inaction. Shops and commercial establishments remained closed in solidarity with the victims of the firing incident, in which two youths were shot dead and four others injured by unidentified bike-borne assailants. The shooters, believed to have links with gangsters, are still absconding. The victims included Sarabjit Singh Kaka, 26, an aide of Congress leader Amandeep Jaintipuria, and Kanav Mahajan, an acquaintance. Both were present with the leader when the unidentified assailants opened fire outside his brother-in-law's showroom. While the leader narrowly escaped, Kaka and Mahajan sustained bullet injuries and died. All kinds of public services were hit by the bandh, affecting routine life. However, shops on Batala's outskirts in Gurdaspur district stayed open. Protesters accused the Punjab Police of failing to contain rising gangster activity and demanded swift justice for the bereaved families. Police have registered an FIR in the case, but the assailants remain out of grasp even three days after the incident....