Tables turned, hawkers bash MNS men in Malad

Hawkers paid back Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers in their own coin by beating them up on Saturday. Around 15 party workers, led by local divisional chief Sushant Malavade, had gone to the Malad Railway station to check for encroachment, when they were attacked by around 100 hawkers with rods and sticks when they tried to evacuate them, said police.

“They were lying in wait; the attack was premeditated,” an MNS functionary said. He charged that the retaliation had taken place after Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam held a public meeting at Malad with the hawkers on Saturday.

“The clash took place around 3.15 pm and four MNS workers were injured,” said a police officer. “While one of them suffered a fracture on the head, three others sustained minor injuries and were admitted at Janvi Hospital in Malad (W). At least four attackers have been detained and we are in the process of registering a case of rioting in the matter.”

Since October 15, the Raj Thackeray-led party has been evacuating and attacking hawkers from outside suburban railway stations as a part of drive against illegal vendors after last month’s stampede at Elphinstone Road railway station that claimed 23 lives.

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