Thane: Shiv Vada vendor flings ink on officer for pulling down his stall

KDMC ward officer Arun Wankhade after a vada pav stall vendor blackened his face

Angry at his stalls being demolished during a drive, a vendor blackened the face of a ward officer of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC). Other officers and staff of the ward then caught hold of the vendor and handed him over to the police. The Bazarpeth police have registered a case and are investigating the matter.

Black revenge
According to sources, the victim, identified as Arun Wankhade (53), is the officer KDMC's C ward. In his complaint to the police, he said they undertook a demolition drive across the ward for road widening, and as part of it, accused Shyam Kshirsagar's Shiv Vada stall near the DCP office in Kalyan west was also razed.

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On Friday around 11 am, Kshirsagar (55), on the pretext of submitting a proposal to the ward officer, entered Wankhade's office. "They both had an argument over the demolition, where Wankhade clarified that it was done for the road widening and also that a number of other stalls were demolished too. Kshirsagar then removed a bottle and blackened Wankhade's face," said inspector, Bazarpeth police station, Vijay Bhise.

Case registered
A case has been registered under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

"We have arrested the accused who will be produced in court on Saturday. Further investigation is going on. It's clear that the stall was demolished as it was illegal, encroaching on the footpath as well as dirtying the road with litter," said Bhise.