Ten persons have been booked for allegedly pelting stones at police personnel and obstructing officials during an anti-encroachment drive at Garib Nagar in Mumbai’s Bandra East area, where authorities were carrying out demolition of illegal structures, including an unauthorised mosque structure, police said.
According to the FIR registered at Nirmal Nagar police station, three police personnel sustained injuries after a mob gathered during the demolition operation and allegedly attacked police and railway officials with stones and other objects on Wednesday evening.
Demolition drive following High Court directions
The Western Railway had launched a large-scale anti-encroachment operation in the Garib Nagar slum cluster on Tuesday after directions from the Bombay High Court to clear illegal structures built on railway land adjacent to Bandra railway station. Officials said the drive covers nearly 5,200 square metres of encroached land and is being conducted over a five-day period.
Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek said nearly 60 per cent of the illegal structures had been removed so far. Authorities had also deployed a heavy police force to maintain law and order during the operation.
The FIR stated that the railway administration had earlier identified several unauthorised structures along the railway boundary wall and issued notices before beginning demolition work. Police personnel from Mumbai Police, Railway Protection Force and Home Guards were deployed at the site to assist civic and railway authorities.
Mob turns violent during operation
According to police, the situation escalated at around 4.30 pm on Wednesday when a crowd allegedly gathered near Gate No. 18 in Garib Nagar and began protesting against the demolition action. Officials claimed some members of the crowd started shouting slogans and attempted to obstruct the demolition teams.
Police said repeated announcements were made asking residents to disperse peacefully, but a section of the crowd allegedly became aggressive and began throwing stones and other objects at officials present at the site. During the violence, three policemen suffered injuries, including injuries to hands and fingers, according to the complaint filed by a police constable attached to Nirmal Nagar police station.
Authorities said police later used mild force to disperse the crowd and detained several persons from the area.
Charges filed against 10 accused
Police have booked 10 accused under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to unlawful assembly, rioting, assault on public servants, obstruction of government work and damage to public property. Provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and the Maharashtra Police Act have also been invoked in the case.
The FIR names 10 persons, most of them residents of Garib Nagar and nearby localities in Bandra East and Andheri. Police said further investigation into the incident is underway and additional arrests may follow.
