Lucknow, Buzzbytes, Dec 18: In a recent anti-encroachment operation conducted by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) near the 1090 Crossing, a Kashmiri vendor was allegedly slapped, and several dry fruit sellers were forcefully taken away in police vehicles.
Videos of the incident circulated on social media, depicting police actions perceived as manhandling and dragging vendors into vans on Sunday. Netizens strongly criticized the actions of Lucknow police.
One video showed a policeman slapping a young vendor while bundling him into a van, with other LMC officials seen dragging additional sellers on the bridge over Gomti near 1090 Crossing. Vendors claimed they were peacefully removing their goods when authorities abruptly began removing their materials and forcefully detaining them when they resisted.
Contradicting accounts emerged, with police asserting that the vendors were being cleared due to VIP movement. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), East, Ashish Srivastava, the stretch between 1090 to Samta Mulak is a VIP road, and anti-encroachment drives are conducted periodically in collaboration with the police. The CM was scheduled to use the road on Sunday, prompting the LMC’s presence for encroachment removal.
The DCP mentioned that the youth selling dry fruits misbehaved with LMC authorities, leading to their removal and subsequent detention at the police station under section 151 of CrPC. The vendors, who have been selling dry fruits in the area for the last decade, argued that they travel significant distances to earn a livelihood and vehemently denied any misbehavior, accusing officials of abusing and mistreating them.
