Mumbai: Following assault and abuse on Muslim hawkers in Mumbai, Mumbai Police registered a case against nine BJP workers, including the president of the party in the Mahim Assembly constituency, Akshata Tendulkar. The BJP leaders attacked the hawkers at the Dadar market area, and the police action was based on a complaint by a hawker named Saurabh Mishra, who filed the same at the Shivaji Park police station, The Free Press Journal (TFPJ) reported.
As per the complaint, the incident took place near the Rangoli store in Dadar, where Tendulkar and her associates approached hawkers in the area and began questioning them about their religion.
According to the complainant, the group particularly targeted Sofiyan Shahid Ali, one of his employees. When the assaulter realized that Sofiyan was a Muslim, they started abusing and assaulting him. When Sofiyan attempted to flee, they chased him and assaulted him again,
A video of the incident surfaced on social media.
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After the complaint, Shivaji Park police registered a case under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including 189(2) (threatening injury), 191(2) (causing hurt), 115(2) (abetment), 351(2) (assault), and 352 (punishment for assault or criminal force), as well as sections 37(1) and 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act.
Also, TFPJ reports that Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 5, Ganesh Gawde confirmed that an investigation has been initiated.
Meanwhile, Akshata Tendulkar claimed that it was the party's campaign, though not against any particular religion, aimed at identifying illegal immigrants from Bangladesh operating in the market. Tendulkar claimed that despite repeated complaints to the police about illegal Bangladeshi nationals selling fruits and vegetables in the area using forged Indian documents, no firm action had been taken.