10 cops injured in stone-pelting during anti-encroachment drive in Mumbai slum; 15 persons held

At least 10 police personnel were injured after angry residents of a slum in Mumbai's Bandra area hurled stones at them as authorities razed an alleged illegal religious structure during an anti-encroachment drive on Wednesday, officials said.

Around 15 persons were later detained for stone-pelting, they said, adding that police resorted to lathi-charge to control an unruly mob, in which some local residents were injured.

The Western Railway on Tuesday launched a massive anti-encroachment drive in Gareeb Nagar slum area, clearing several of the 500 illegal huts near Bandra railway station following directions from the Bombay High Court. During this five-day demolition drive, the authorities seek to clear 5,200 square metres of encroached railway land.

On the second day of the anti-encroachment drive, the authorities started pulling down an alleged illegal three-storey mosque in the slum. Soon, a large number of residents gathered at the site, which triggered tension in the area, the police officials said.

The angry residents claimed that authorities did not give them adequate time to remove their belongings from the premises before the demolition began.

In order to disperse the mob, the police started lathi-charging, an official said.

Several persons, including women, sustained injuries during the police action, he said.

However, some local residents later started throwing stones at the police, in which at least 10 personnel were injured, the official said.

The police later detained around 15 persons for indulging in stone-pelting, after which the police again lathi-charged the unruly protesters to bring the situation under control.

Around 15 persons have been detained in connection with stone-pelting, he added.

Additional Commissioner of Police Abhinav Deshmukh said the anti-encroachment drive was being carried under the jurisdiction of the Nirmal Nagar police station as per the high court orders.

''During the drive, some anti-social elements tried to obstruct the work by hurling stones at the demolition squad. The police used appropriate force to disperse them,'' he said.

The process of registering an FIR is underway, Deshmukh said, adding that strict legal action will be taken against the vandals.

According to police, more than 1,000 personnel were deployed at the site during the operation. While around 400 personnel belong to the city police force, as many others are from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP), along with officials from various railway departments.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)