Apple harvesting season, set to pick in coming days, is likely to get affected by the strong public protest against gruesome gangrape and murder of a schoolgirl in heartland of apple growing region near tehsil Kotkhai in district Shimla.The protests, alleging shoddy police investigation, have spilt from apple belt over to other cities in the hilly state.At a time when harvesting is set to pick in Kotkhai, known for high-quality apple, farmers are enraged and engrossed in agitations. "The incident has jolted the hard-working farming community," Sarita, 43, from village in Kotkhai engaged in horticulture said. "It has already affected the normal farm-life but people want justice for the deceased," she maintained.After apple growers held strong protest and resorted to stone-pelting at police station in Theog near Shimla, the state government sought CBI inquiry into the matter. To quell public outrage, chief minister Virbhadra Singh had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate CBI inquiry at the earliest into the matter.On Tuesday, protestors are likely to organise march-protest across Mall Road to submit a memorandum for a CBI inquiry while students have called for road- blockades on July 18 in Shimla. Farmers' agitation is planned near Kotkhai.Symbolic protests have been held in cities outside Himachal Pradesh including Chandigarh.Most in the farming community suspect involvement of Nepalese farmhands in the rape incident. Many feel suspect that the involvement of Nepalese labourers would distort age-old relation of apple growers and the labourers.The apple cultivation is heavily depended on Nepalese farmhands especially during harvesting activity."The apple season will start peaking by last week of July and protests would adversely affect small time vegetable and fruits growers if protests continue," said apple trader and commission agent, Anurag Chauhan from Dhalli in Shimla.The public outcry had intensified after police rounded up suspects including a driver and Nepalese farmhands. The controversy got murkier after the chief minister's official Facebook account posted pictures of suspects but were later deleted. Later, those suspects were found missing in arrests made by the police.Hopeful of smooth procurement this season, corporate companies engaged in apple procurement including Adani Agri Fresh, Mahindra AgriBusiness and DevBhoomi are likely to commence buying in August.

Stay updated with all the Latest Shimla headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.