Mumbai Dharavi Protest: Three Arrested After Attack on BMC Vehicle

In the jurisdiction of Dharavi Police Station, near Shamiyana Junction and Himalaya Hotel on 90 Feet Road, Mumbai, a group unlawfully gathered and violently attacked a vehicle belonging to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. They threw stones, shattering the front glass and causing significant damage. Additionally, they obstructed traffic by staging a blockade on the road, hindering government operations.

As a result, an FIR has been filed at Dharavi Police Station under Crime No. 847/2024 for multiple violations, including sections 132, 189(1), 189(2), 189(4), 190, 191(2), 324(3), and 191(3) of the BNS Act, 2023, as well as Section 37(1)(a) and 135 of MCOCA, and Section 3 of the Public Property Damage Prevention Act, 1984, along with Section 7 of the Criminal Amendment Act. Three suspects have been arrested in connection with this incident.

For the unversed, protests broke out in Mumbai’s Dharavi on Saturday over the demolition of the 25-year-old Subhania Mosque on 90 Feet Road. The BMC had declared the mosque unauthorized and planned the demolition. However, locals have been protesting and sitting on the streets since Friday. The protesters are demanding that the mosque not be demolished after the BMC declared it unauthorised, with many continuing to sit along the entire road near the mosque.

A large number of police personnel have been deployed there to control the situation. "A team of BMC officials from G-North administrative ward reached the 90 Feet Road in Dharavi around 9 am to demolish alleged illegal portion of Mehboob-E-Subhani masjid. Soon, a large number of local residents gathered at the spot and stopped the civic officials from entering the lane where the mosque is located," the police official said, PTI reported. Dharavi is one of the most densely-populated colonies in Mumbai which is considered Asia's largest slum.