11 hawkers booked for entering Wankhede stadium during WC match

11 persons have been booked for illegally entering the Wankhede stadium during a cricket match. They were hawkers who used someone else's identity card to gain entry.

Mumbai: 11 persons have been booked for allegedly entering the Wankhede stadium illegally during the England-South Africa cricket World Cup match on Sunday.

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According to the police, all the accused were hawkers, who had entered the stadium on somebody else’s identity card in connivance with their vendor, and were selling ice cream, mineral water, and other food items.

On Sunday, Meghshyam Gavkar, sub-inspector, Mumbai Police, was posted at sector 17 staircase for crowd control at the stadium. Around 7 pm, he suspected some hawkers and questioned them, which revealed that the name on the identity card and the hawker’s original name were different.

“Similarly, he found there were more than ten hawkers, and the vendor was behind the racket. To gain profit the vendor in connivance with the eleven hawkers cheated the ICC and the government by gaining illegal entry into the stadium,” said the police officer.

The accused have been given 41 A CrPc notices to notice of appearance before police officer when required and were allowed to go.

“All of them were brought to the police station, their documents checked and later allowed to go as per law as the punishment is less than seven years for the offence,” said the police officer from Marine Drive police station.