Overview
- An FIR was registered on March 19 following a March 18 anti-encroachment operation outside Santacruz West station during which BMC staff began seizing goods.
- The case names Mohammed Ikram Sajid Merchant and Shoaib Mehboob Sayyed, and police have issued notices directing them to appear on March 21.
- Charges were filed under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 132, 351(2), 352 and 3(5) based on a complaint by BMC licence inspector Laxman Muthe.
- The accused deny assault and allege selective targeting and bribe demands, while the complainant rejects wrongdoing and says eviction drives will continue.
- Police rejected a BJP leader’s claim that the accused are Bangladeshi nationals, and the Santacruz episode follows recent enforcement clashes including arrests after a Kandivali drive.