Man taken for ride, robbed at gunpoint

A 41-year-old manager was allegedly forced at gunpoint by two men to drive them from Juhu to Fort Thursday night and robbed. The accused withdrew Rs 70,000 using his ATM card, police said.

Zakir Ikran Hussain, manager of a choreographer, was headed to Santacruz (East) in his Honda City. As he stopped at Irla Junction at 7 pm, two unidentified men barged in.

Police said before Hussain could react, they put a gun to his head and told him to drive to Dharavi. The men said they were being chased by members of a rival gang. At Dharavi, they told Hussain to drive further to CST.

After reaching Fort at around 10 pm, they forced him to stop at an ATM. They then tied him with ropes, took his wallet, forced him to reveal PIN and withdrew Rs 70,000 from his account. Meanwhile, Hussain managed to free himself and alert passersby. Panicked, the robbers fled.

“The victim alerted the nearest cop and a complaint was lodged at MRA Marg police station. The case was later transferred to Juhu as Irla is under our jurisdiction. We are preparing sketches based on the description provided by Hussain,” said Arun Bhagat, senior inspector, Juhu police station.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/man-taken-for-ride-robbed-at-gunpoint/1071766/

Hawkers return to areas they were evicted from

Barely a fortnight after BMC’s crackdown on hawkers across the city, vendors have returned to the areas they were cleared from.

On January 23, BMC evicted nearly 735 from chronic bottleneck areas such as Bandra (West), Khar (West), S V Road in Borivali, Dadar, Juhu, Andheri and Bhandup. Fines to the tune of Rs 25 lakh were collected in the drive.

While Hill Road in Bandra has largely remained clear of hawkers since the drive last week, on SV Road Borivali, hawkers have returned to the arterial road where road concretisation work has already worsened traffic problems.

“We have made deals with shops where we hide. When the BMC van leaves the area, we go back. So far, no one has said anything about giving us alternative space,” said a hawker outside Dadar station.

“We can remove unauthorised structures effectively only with police support. This is an on-going process. We visit the areas regularly to see that they don’t return,” said deputy municipal commissioner Anand Wagaralkar, in charge of removal of encroachments.

“We renewed the anti-hawkers drive because people, especially senior citizens, should have space to walk,” said DCP (detection) Ambadas Pote.

“In places such as Dadar, Bhandup and Borivali, they have returned. From Bandra to Jogeshwari, the police are strict. The previous day, 15 hawkers tried to go back, the next day seven. They are tired of this mistreatment. There is no proper income and some are considering pulling their children out of school,” said Daya Shankar Singh, president of Azad Hawkers’ Union. Singh added that the hawkers were planning a protest in the coming weeks.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hawkers-return-to-areas-they-were-evicted-from/1068957/