Things turned out of control at one of Thane (Maharashtra) civic body's routine drives on Monday. The drive, which was an initiative that aimed at nabbing illegal street vendors, witnessed a gruesome scene wherein a senior official was attacked by a vegetable vendor, who chopped off three fingers of her hand amid the scuffle.
The victim identified as Thane Assistant Municipal Commissioner Kalpita Pimple, was overseeing the drive that hoped to clear out unauthorized vendors operating out of the Kasarvadavali locality. The attacker has been identified as Amarjit Yadav, a vegetable vendor. He was arrested at the scene.
An indepth probe is underway into the incident. Pimple was accompanied by her bodyguard, who was reportedly also injured in the process. But things spiraled out of control before any action could be taken to prevent the incident.
According to Mid-day, the incident happened during a patrol around 6.30pm, when Pimple asked vendors on the roadside to clear the area. The demand triggered Yadav, who began to argue with her. In his defense, Yadav implored the officer to let him be as he was reportedly out of work since the coronavirus lockdown. He revealed that this was his last resort in order to survive.
Pimple was however unconvinced by the request and added that it wasn’t an excuse to illegally set up stalls. The altercation was followed by the officer’s instructions to remove his belongings from the spot.
Pimple was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she underwent surgery to re-attach the severed fingers of her hands. Details about her health condition is yet to be revealed NDTV reported.
Onlookers who recorded the incident, shared the footage online. The video footages depict Yadav hollering and blurting out profanities amid the protest. He is seen carrying two knives as police officials attempt to convince him to surrender.
At one point, Yadav is seen placing a knife on his own neck—an act that appears to be a threatening tactic used by the assailant to scare the officers away.
The police are yet to release more details about the incident and are likely to look into the vendor's past criminal records if any. It remains uncertain as to whether an FIR will be lodged in this regard.
