Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A clash broke out between municipal sanitation workers and a shopkeeper in Bhopal’s MP Nagar Zone-1 on Diwali night, following a dispute over garbage disposal. CCTV footage of the incident surfaced on Monday, leading to police action, said MP Nagar police on Monday.
According to ACP Manish Bharadwaj, the complainant Anoop Vyas (35), who runs a shop named Maa Vaishno Arts and Graphics in MP Nagar Zone-1, reported that the incident occurred on October 20, the night of Diwali. Vyas stated that he was sitting outside his shop after performing puja when a municipal garbage truck arrived. The driver, seeing firecracker waste nearby, began hurling abuses.
When Vyas and others asked him not to use abusive language and clarified that they were unaware of who had thrown the garbage, the driver and his co-workers started arguing. The situation quickly escalated, and the workers allegedly attacked Vyas and his brother-in-law Neeraj Sharma with a broomstick and a belt. Both sustained injuries before the accused fled the scene.
The complainant further told police that one of the accused identified himself as Faizan Khan, warning them to “remember this day” before leaving. Based on the complaint, an FIR has been registered against Faizan and three unidentified individuals.
Reacting to the matter, BMC Commissioner Sanskriti Jain said that the incident is under police investigation and the corporation will not interfere. Meanwhile, Nitesh Mishra, the BMC’s night sweeping in-charge, offered a different version of events.
He told Free Press that the viral video showing the assault is incomplete and alleged that the shopkeeper and his friends were burning plastic waste on the road. When sanitation workers objected, the shopkeeper’s group began abusing them, leading to a physical altercation. Mishra added that a counter-complaint will be filed by the sanitation workers.
