01 September,2016 08:36 AM IST | | Saurabh Vaktania
She claims she was burning garbage to get relief from mosquitoes at the construction site at Khar where she is employed
"My family members are working for the Indian Army, how can I burn the Indian flag?" said 37-year-old Asha Chaurasiya, against whom an FIR was registered at the Khar police station, for burning the national flag. The woman is posted at a builder's site in Khar west as a security guard. She claimed there was a garbage filled bag which she burnt to find relief from mosquitoes. However, Indian flags were packed in the garbage and they also got burned.
Asha Chaurasiya
The Khar police have registered a case against Chaurasiya under section 2 of IPC. A police official from Khar police station said, "We have registered a case against the woman after a complaint from a local social worker. The woman however claims her innocence. We are not going to arrest her in the case but will investigate it."
Flags sold by beggars
Chaurasiya is a resident of Kandivli and works as security guard in Khar west. She said of August 29 when the incident took place, "There are many beggars and homeless people near the site. They sold the Indian flag on August 15. Several flags had fallen on the road which I picked up and kept at a proper place."
She said, "It rained on August 29 so there were a lot of insects and mosquitoes. I and other security guards picked up a bag full of garbage and started to burn it. I had a stick in my hand with which I was moving the garbage to burn it to get some relief from mosquitoes."
Burning flags
The complainant Shafi Sayyed Ahmed was passing by when he saw the Indian flag burning. Police said he approached the site's entrance and asked what she was doing. Before Chaurasiya realised it, he took several pictures of the Indian flags burning. A site supervisor came out and removed the Indian flag. He and Chaurasiya claimed they apologised to Ahmed but he did not listen to them.
Shafi went to Khar police station and filed an FIR in the case. Chaurasiya said, "My son-in-law is in the Army posted at Chattisgarh, my uncle is in the police. My other family members are also serving the nation. I know the value and importance of the Indian national flag. Kill me if I have burnt the Indian flag intentionally. It happened unknowingly."
