20-year-old attacks volunteer distributing food amid lockdown

This image has been used for representational purposes only. (Photo: Shadab Khan)

A 20-year-old was arrested for allegedly attacking two volunteers of a mandal who were distributing vada pav to the poor amid the lockdown in Nagpada, south Mumbai.

The accused got angry after the volunteers asked him to not roam around without a mask and even told him that they would buy him one, a Mumbai Mirror report read.

The accused were identified as Ashok Sitaram Patel, a resident of 13th Lane, Kamathipura, Nagpada.

Police said on Friday, the mandal decided to distribute vada pav to the poor. An officer said that while Kamble was distributing food to the needy people near Bori Chawl in Kamathipura, Kamble and other volunteers spotted a man, identified as Ashok Patel, who was roaming around without a mask. "Kamble told Patel not to roam without a mask, to which Patel said masks are not available in the area. Kamble offered to buy him a mask and this led to an argument between them. Patel then left the spot threatening to teach Kamble a lesson," a police officer from Nagpada police station was quoted as saying in the report.

The report added that Patel returned in a while and started brandishing a knife and attacked kamble and another volunteer, Asif Mogul, 41. The police officer said that he tried to flee the spot, but was apprehended by the volunteers and the injured were taken to JJ hospital.

Patel was arrested and has been booked under sections 324, 326 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections of the Maharashtra Police Act, the police said.

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