A 77-year-old widow, suffering from cancer, has alleged that she has been knocking on the doors of senior police officials to get back her small photo frame making workshop, which was forcibly taken over by local goons on Sunday afternoon. The elderly, Nisreen Unwala, said that her family was operating the shop for the last 25 years from the Chunawala compound in Kalina.
ost her shop was illegally occupied, she immediately approached the local police but they refused to take her complaint, Nisreen averred. Subsequently, she visited the Commissioner of Police Office in Crawford Market. She even camped outside the Office on Monday afternoon and waited for eight hours to meet the police chief, Sanjay Pandey. Finally at 9.30 pm, she saw Pandey leaving the office. She rushed to him and described how illegal squatters led by one Taufiq and some ladies broke the shop’s locks. They forcibly took the possession, claiming to be the new owners of the workshop, she added.
Talking about her interaction with Pandey, Nisreen said, “Commissioner Pandey Sir was very kind and heard my complaints. He asked his staff to look into my grievances and spoke to the Vakola police station to take my complaint.” However, when she visited the police station on Tuesday she was made to sit for 10 hours “despite bad health” and told to come the next day, she alleged.
As asked, she again went to the police station on Wednesday, with all the documents apparently showing how her late husband was the shop’s tenant for the last 25 years. After his death, Nisreen along with her son-in-law took over the workshop in 2014 and was paying regular rent to landlord Harish Mehta.
“We have taken her complaint and filed an FIR against the accused. An investigation is going on and strict action will be taken as per law,” said inspector Rajesh Shinde. While Nisreen bemoaned that she is tired of the legal hurdles and paperwork demanded by the police. “My bread and butter was snatched. My workshop has been forcibly taken over by strangers, who claim to have purchased it. But the police isn’t helping me."
