Street Vendors Jailed for Clashing with Officials

Four street vendors, including two women, have been sentenced to two years' imprisonment for assaulting municipal officials during an anti-encroachment drive in Vashi in 2020. The Belapur sessions court ruled that the accused abused and attacked civic employees, resulting in injuries.

In a significant ruling, the Belapur sessions court sentenced four street vendors, including two women, to two years in prison. The harsh sentence was handed down for their involvement in assaulting municipal officials during a 2020 anti-encroachment operation in Vashi.

The incident occurred on March 19, 2020, when a team from the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation sought to clear unauthorized hawkers from Sector 9. Additional sessions judge K R Deshpande found Sachinkumar Rampal Yadav, Ratnesh Suchit Gupta, Soni Suchit Gupta, and Deepa Ravindrasing Chauhan guilty of abusing and attacking the civic employees.

In addition to the prison sentences, each accused was fined Rs 2,000, with the court directing that this money be paid to the injured municipal staff members as compensation.

(With inputs from agencies.)