Hawker-mob roughs up Colaba shop owner
Angry mob of Colaba hawkers beat up his sons too for not allowing them to set up shop outside his store.
BMC’s bid to clear Colaba Causeway off illegal hawkers hit a legal shop owner like a boomerang when a mob of illegal hawkers roughened him and his son up for not letting the squatters set up their makeshift shops outside his shop last week.
MK Vakharia, 67, and his two sons -- who own the Royal Leather Goods, situated next to Leopold Cafe on Colaba Causeway -- were allegedly beaten up by a mob of illegal hawkers when they tried to stop them from setting up an illegal stall.
“When I came to open my shop, there was an illegal stall selling all kinds of things including cigars and lighters. I requested the hawkers to remove the stall as it was illegal and a nuisance. The hawkers refused to do so. I approached Colaba police who said action would be taken, but nothing was done. So we complained to the BMC and they came to evict the hawkers. As soon as the BMC officials left, a mob of hawkers threatened us and beat us up,” Vakharia said.
Vakharia’s son Yunus, who is also a lawyer, was slapped by the hawkers soon after the police and BMC officials left the spot. Vakharia was also forced to undergo a medical examination at the state-run St. George Hospital, which confirmed that he was beaten up. The entire incident was also caught on CCTV camera. Vakharia’s younger son Hannan was also pushed around by the hawkers who filed a complaint with the Colaba police.
The president of the Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA) has taken up the matter with Police Commissioner Datta Padsalgikar.
“MK Vakharia is a senior citizen and suffered blows on the face, which led to the breaking of his spectacles and he was left with bruises. This is not acceptable. During this, calls were also made to the police helpline number 100 but to no avail as they got no help. Further disappointing was the police officers not willing to register an FIR. Only after much pleading did the police file an NC. There should be a detailed probe into the matter,” Viren Shah said.
Following the massive fire at Colaba’s Metro House last month, BMC had decided to cut the famous Colaba Causeway hawkers to size. According to BMC records, only 106 hawkers on the famous shopping lane have licenses while over 450 hawkers were operating illegally.
BMC decided to not let any illegal hawker set up stalls along the roads. However, several illegal stalls have already cropped up since.
“An FIR should be filed and a police van should be deployed 24x7 at Colaba Causeway till all illegal hawkers are gone. The hawkers who are seen assaulting the shop owners in the CCTV footage must be arrested,” Shah said in his letter to Padsalgikar.
Vinay Gadgil, Senior Police Inspector, Colaba police, said, “I personally met the complainants and sorted out the issue. We removed the hawkers and made sure there was no law and order situation. I'm surprised to know that they have complained to the higher-ups. In fact, after the scuffle, I called to see if everything was fine. We will crack down on illegal hawkers.”
BMC’s bid to clear Colaba Causeway off illegal hawkers hit a legal shop owner like a boomerang when a mob of illegal hawkers roughened him and his son up for not letting the squatters set up their makeshift shops outside his shop last week.
MK Vakharia, 67, and his two sons -- who own the Royal Leather Goods, situated next to Leopold Cafe on Colaba Causeway -- were allegedly beaten up by a mob of illegal hawkers when they tried to stop them from setting up an illegal stall.
Moreover, when Vakharia tried to file a complaint with the police, the Colaba Police refused and registered a Non-Cognizable (NC) offence instead.
“When I came to open my shop, there was an illegal stall selling all kinds of things including cigars and lighters. I requested the hawkers to remove the stall as it was illegal and a nuisance. The hawkers refused to do so. I approached Colaba police who said action would be taken, but nothing was done. So we complained to the BMC and they came to evict the hawkers. As soon as the BMC officials left, a mob of hawkers threatened us and beat us up,” Vakharia said.
Vakharia’s son Yunus, who is also a lawyer, was slapped by the hawkers soon after the police and BMC officials left the spot. Vakharia was also forced to undergo a medical examination at the state-run St. George Hospital, which confirmed that he was beaten up. The entire incident was also caught on CCTV camera. Vakharia’s younger son Hannan was also pushed around by the hawkers who filed a complaint with the Colaba police.
The president of the Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA) has taken up the matter with Police Commissioner Datta Padsalgikar.
“MK Vakharia is a senior citizen and suffered blows on the face, which led to the breaking of his spectacles and he was left with bruises. This is not acceptable. During this, calls were also made to the police helpline number 100 but to no avail as they got no help. Further disappointing was the police officers not willing to register an FIR. Only after much pleading did the police file an NC. There should be a detailed probe into the matter,” Viren Shah said.
Following the massive fire at Colaba’s Metro House last month, BMC had decided to cut the famous Colaba Causeway hawkers to size. According to BMC records, only 106 hawkers on the famous shopping lane have licenses while over 450 hawkers were operating illegally.
BMC decided to not let any illegal hawker set up stalls along the roads. However, several illegal stalls have already cropped up since.
“An FIR should be filed and a police van should be deployed 24x7 at Colaba Causeway till all illegal hawkers are gone. The hawkers who are seen assaulting the shop owners in the CCTV footage must be arrested,” Shah said in his letter to Padsalgikar.
Vinay Gadgil, Senior Police Inspector, Colaba police, said, “I personally met the complainants and sorted out the issue. We removed the hawkers and made sure there was no law and order situation. I'm surprised to know that they have complained to the higher-ups. In fact, after the scuffle, I called to see if everything was fine. We will crack down on illegal hawkers.”
