The Nirmal Nagar police resorted to lathicharge in Bandra East after slumdwellers in the Behrampada area went on a rampage on Wednesday. According to the police, around 1000 slumdwellers gathered and pelted stones at the office of a builder in the area.

The riot broke out following the alleged stone pelting by the builder’s men at a local mosque, said the police.

According to witnesses, the riot started around 6.30 am after a group of over 30-35 men, allegedly affiliated to the HDIL company, assaulted Aseem Quereshi, nephew of Rafiq Quereshi who is contesting a case in the court over a small property. This property is being developed by HDIL. A few locals protested against the assault on Aseem and this led to the altercation between them and the builder’s men.

The slumdwellers allege that the builder’s men came again around 1:30 pm, damaged some motor vehicles parked there and started pelting stones at the devotees offering prayers at a nearby mosque. Sangeeta Ambhore, a human rights activist, said, “The riot was started by the men of HDIL. They initially started pelting stones at a local mosque. Enraged at this, the slum dwellers retaliated.”

The police officials said that stone pelting at the mosque triggered a riot-like situation. The entire locality came on the streets and started protesting in front of the builder’s office, said the police.

“The angry mob pelted stones and damaged the glass panes and façade of the HDIL building,” said DCP (Zone 8) Nisar Tamboli.

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