Man booked for disrupting civic officials on election-related duty

A Vile Parle resident was booked for disrupting the work of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials deployed on election-related surveillance duty near Milan Subway early on Sunday

Mumbai: A Vile Parle resident was booked for disrupting the work of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials deployed on election-related surveillance duty near Milan Subway early on Sunday.

Man booked for disrupting civic officials on election-related duty

According to the Vile Parle police, the complaint was filed by Suresh Janu Rathod, 37, a Kalyan resident and leader of a Static Surveillance Team appointed by the Election Commission for the upcoming civic polls.

Rathod told the police that he was assigned to the K/East ward (Andheri East), and reported for duty at Milan Subway around 8 pm on Saturday. He was accompanied by Dhiraj Chandrakant Panchal, a videographer contracted by the Election Commission, a Maharashtra Security Force guard, and a police constable.

In the early hours of Sunday, the team was inspecting vehicles when they stopped a white Maruti Suzuki Swift operating as a taxi. Panchal was recording the inspection as part of official procedure when a male passenger sitting in the rear seat questioned why the inspection was being filmed.

When Panchal explained that they were working for the Election Commission, the passenger allegedly struck up an argument and manhandled him. The man then got out of the vehicle, chased Panchal, shouted loudly, and grabbed him. Despite repeated requests from officials to calm down, he continued to create a scene and disrupted the inspection.

The accused also allegedly pushed Rathod, stopped him from carrying out the election-related duties, and verbally abused Panchal, and threatened him, saying, “I’ll see you later.”

When Rathod asked the man for his name and address, he identified himself as Iftikhar Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed. After completing his duty, Rathod informed his superiors and, with their permission, approached the police to file a complaint.

“We have registered the FIR and are investigating the case,” said a police officer from the Vile Parle police station.