They were protesting against the police action against their colleagues following he murder of a Delhi trader in the city last week. The body of the trader was discovered on Monday from a water-filled ditch in Sector 17. The police also found cycle tyre marks, apparently those of a rickshaw, near the body, giving rise to the suspicion that the trader was murdered by a rickshaw-puller who had been hired by the trader to take him to the bus stand.

The rickshaws-pullers who were moving in the city in groups since morning converged at the intersection at around 11 am and continued their rally for over five hours. Their leaders, including Ramesh Kumar Chandolia and Jairam Joshi, criticised the administration of unduly harassing this poorer sections of society.

Meanwhile, a delegation of rickshaw-pullers met the Deputy Commissioner and presented a memorandum to him, demanding a stop to the illegal detentions and harassment of rickshaw-pullers.

With a large number of rickshaw-pullers remaining off the road for the better part of the day, the city residents, particularly school students and people arriving in the city from outside, faced a tough time.