Case against SP leader Abu Azmi, others over protest

A case was filed against SP leader Abu Azmi who earlier had a heated argument with senior police inspector of Nagpada police station Shalini Sharma.

Mumbai:A case was registered on Friday against Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi and 45 others for violating lockdown norms during a protest in the city, a police official said.

Azmi, president of the Maharashtra unit of the Samajwadi Party, had a heated argument with senior police inspector of Nagpada police station Shalini Sharma in the early hours of Thursday.

He had alleged that inspector Sharma misbehaved with him.

The SP leader had staged a protest at Nagpada junction in south Mumbai on late Wednesday night against `mismanagement' of transportation of migrant workers back to
their home states.

A First Information Report was registered against Azmi, his supporters and some unidentified persons under IPC sections 188 (defying public servant's order), 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 270 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and also the Disaster Management Act.

He violated lockdown norms while staging protest and the protesters did not maintain social distancing, said a police official. No arrest has been made.

Azmi had blamed the city police for ferrying workers to a railway station where they were supposed to board a train to Lucknow which got canceled, resulting in chaos.

A senior officer, however, claimed that the police were not at fault, as the train was canceled because of unavailability of railway coaches.

Inspector Sharma, meanwhile, was transferred as senior inspector of Chembur police station while senior police inspector of Chembur, Jayprakash Bhosale, was transfered to Nagpada on Thursday.

(PTI report)